A Year-End Devotional: Loving Our Neighbors Well

By Shawn DeBaar, Executive Director, NeighborLink Fort Wayne

As another year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting not just on numbers, projects completed, or hours volunteered—but on faithfulness.

Faithfulness looks a lot like a neighbor showing up with a rake on a cold morning.
It looks like a volunteer kneeling to fix a step so someone can safely enter their own home.
It looks like donors giving generously in a year that has stretched many of us thin.

At NeighborLink Fort Wayne, we often talk about practical, neighbor-to-neighbor expressions of God’s love. That phrase isn’t marketing language—it’s theology lived out with work gloves on.

“Do not grow weary in doing good…”

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9

This year has not been easy.

Like many nonprofits, we’ve felt the weight of rising costs, uncertain funding, and the emotional toll that comes with walking alongside neighbors who are hurting. Many of our volunteers and supporters have faced their own personal challenges—loss, stress, transitions, and grief. And yet… you kept showing up.

That’s the quiet miracle of obedience.

God rarely asks us to fix everything. He simply asks us to be faithful with what’s in front of us. A yard. A roof. A prayer. A meal. A presence.

The Holy Work of Showing Up

Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) sounds simple—until we realize how inconvenient real love can be. Love costs time. Love disrupts schedules. Love gets dirt under its fingernails.

And yet, this is exactly where God meets us.

I’ve seen it this year in volunteers who said, “I don’t know much about home repair, but I’m willing.”
I’ve seen it in neighbors who said, “I don’t know how I’ll make it, but thank you for not forgetting me.”
I’ve seen it in donors who said, “This year is tight—but I believe in this mission.”

These moments are sacred ground.

Looking Ahead with Hope

As we turn the calendar to a new year, we do so with hope—not because circumstances are perfect, but because God is faithful.

Scripture reminds us in Lamentations 3:22–23:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

That promise holds true for our neighbors.
It holds true for our volunteers.
It holds true for this mission.

A Prayer as We Close the Year

May we continue to be a people who notice.
May we be quick to serve and slow to grow weary.
May our hands reflect the heart of Christ.

And may God use our ordinary acts of obedience to do extraordinary things in the lives of our neighbors.

From my heart to yours—thank you for being part of this story.

With gratitude and hope,

Shawn DeBaar, MA
Executive Director
NeighborLink Fort Wayne

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” — Matthew 25:40