A Face in the Window

By Maija-Kaarina Mäkinen, Pirkanmaa, Finland

I thought my neighbor was being nosy, but I found out she just needed a friend.

I often saw the same face staring from an apartment window. I thought to myself, “Isn’t it sad that someone would constantly look out their window, judging their neighbors’ activities?”

Then one day I thought perhaps I should go ask to see if I could be of some help. I decided to take some fresh-baked bread with me.

The warm bread melted the ice in my elderly neighbor’s heart. Tearfully she told me how lonely she felt. No one visited her and no one called her, not even her own children. With a trembling hand, she wiped tears from her cheeks.

She sighed and then said, “How nice it would be to just leave this world. I don’t judge anyone as I look out my window. I just watch the children playing and other things going on in the yard.”

Over time, we talked about the gospel. At first she was reticent because her husband served as an official in another church. But the more we talked, the more impressed she became with the truths I shared about Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.

“It’s wonderful that we have the same Jesus!” she said. “Will we see each other in heaven?”

“Yes,” I responded, “we will be there together—hand in hand.”

From then on, we were good friends for many years, until she finally passed from this world.

Now I like to think that my former neighbor looks from the window of her heavenly home, following our activities and hoping we have sufficient harmony and love toward one another.