My gas can was often empty. I set up a hidden camera and caught my neighbor stealing it while I was at work. I filled the can with a destructive mixture to teach him a lesson.
The next day, after I went home, I caught him on my porch. He looked unsurprised. But I went pale when, standing right beside a brand-new, full three-gallon gas jug he had bought himself, he smiled and said, “Hey!”
He wiped sweat from his forehead, “You’ve been working so many long, double shifts lately, I figured you wouldn’t want to deal with a tall lawn on your only days off. Sorry for always borrowing your can, mine has a leak in the bottom, so I used yours to get fuel at the station. Whenever I filled my mower, I used whatever was left to trim your side and back yards while you were away.”
I stood on the porch, completely speechless. Because my small camera was pointed strictly at my porch where I stored the can, it had only recorded him walking away with it.
And because I left for work before sunrise and came home long after dark, I hadn’t even noticed that my lawn was perfectly manicured. He wasn’t stealing from me at all, he had been quietly taking care of my home for weeks out of pure neighborly goodwill.
A cold wave of guilt washed over me as I looked at the ruined gas can sitting near his lawnmower. My quick assumptions and anger had almost destroyed his machine, and hurt a good man who was just trying to help me out. Before he could unscrew the cap, I quickly stepped forward, grabbed the bad gas can, and carried it away to dispose of it safely.
I came back out with my weed-whacker, handed him a cold drink, and spent the rest of the afternoon working right alongside him. That day taught me a lesson I’ll never forget: before you assume the worst about a neighbor, remember that quiet kindness often works behind the scenes.
10 Moments of Neighbors’ Support That Remind Us Quiet Kindness and Compassion Are Always Around Us
