Brenda Nixon and I connected over our common Ohio roots and our love for our neighbors – especially the ones who are oh-so-different from us. Brenda’s 35th book, Beyond Buggies and Bonnets: Seven True Stories of Former Amish, chronicles her experiences “adopting” two Amish runaways, befriending and helping others. In this guest post she shares tips to love your different neighbor whether they’re Amish, atheist, or somewhere in between.

Who is our neighbor? Biblical scholars have expounded on this verse and most of us accept the word as anyone God brings into our life.

In 2009, God literally brought neighbors into my life and my home. These were individuals who’d left their lifestyle, their birthright, for a life they’d been warned to avoid. Our life – the English. We were the wicked world. Our life was too chaotic, busy, technical, opposite of the righteousness God demands.

But to their “wayward” ones I gave friendship and food.

• Some I adopted as “family.”
• One needed a birth certificate and a toothbrush, while another appointed me as his Medical Power of Attorney during a delicate, life-saving operation.
• I taught one to hug and accept parental affirmation.

To all, I shared the free gift of salvation through God’s unbelievable grace.

These neighbors were from a 400-year-old culture that evolved from the European Anabaptist movement – the Amish. While many Amish orders lived near me (Ohio has the largest number of Amish settlements nationwide) I knew little of their strict lifestyle, values, and mindset. Most of the ones I gave hospitality were from the uber strict Swartzentruber Order, one of 40 different orders within this complex culture.

Their “wayward” ones began calling me “Mom to ex-Amish.” My church friends referred to me as the Harriett Tubman of the Amish underground. Curious friends, neighbors, and writer colleagues urged me to write a book so readers could learn about these unusual stories.

I wrote about those who went beyond their buggies and bonnets, their upbringing and reasons for leaving. Fascinating. Remarkable. Unbelievable! God instilled in me a “mom” love for these precious people – both inside and outside their culture.

While a few of my own people criticized me, I knew these neighbors had been entrusted to me by God to accept, mother, and mentor. Who am I to question God’s wisdom? Can I know His foresight? His methods? Some people told me they didn’t understand why anyone would leave the Amish, but I knew – witnessed – that those who came to a saving faith in God wouldn’t have if they’d remained Amish. Perhaps, it was God’s only way to draw them to His heart.

In times of confusion, feeling overwhelmed, I found comfort by trusting His promise in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Through the years, while accepting the ones who left the Amish, I stretched my nonjudgmental muscle, practiced more tolerance and patience, and became knowledgeable and compassionate of my neighbor.