Entertaining Strangers

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2

God has sent a lot of people across my path in the last couple of months. There are a few people whose stories have touched my heart deeply. And it can only be becasue they are angels in disguise.

The first was a young, pregnant lady named Anastasia. She and her husband, Mountain, were walking from California to New Mexico so she could deliver her child at a Midwifery. I was sitting in the grass with Oliver at a gas station in Bakersfield while Kelly filled up the U-Haul on our way to Oklahoma. Anastasia wandered over to me. "I love cats," she told me. "But we know they're not good travelers so we got a dog instead. May I pet your cat?" My immediate response was "sure."

As we sat there, she told me her story. She and her husband bartered hand-made bracelets for food and supplies. She had traded a bracelet that morning for a liter of soda. She had been craving carbonation as they walked in the blistering heat. "I would like to give you a bracelet for letting me pet your cat." "You don't have to do that," I replied, wishing I had something more to offer than a simple act of kindness. "But I want you to have one," she smiled. I looked through the bracelets and settled on a tan one. "My husband made that one," she told me as she handed it to me. "We love you and we pray that God will bless you on your journey." With those words, she and her husband waved goodbye and continued on their way.

It was an encounter only God could have planned because, as I watched them hold hands, I realized it's not important where you're going. It's the journey you take and the people you take it with that matter. I think about Anastasia often and hope that she and Moutain made it to the Midwifery in New Mexico safely. That bracelet she gave me in exchange for petting Oliver is still in my possession. Maybe our paths will cross again someday. I truly hope that they do.

The second angel to cross my path knocked on my door yesterday. I opened it and found a man holding a rake standing on the sidewalk. "I'm wandering through the neighborhood, asking people if I can clean out their gutters or rake their leaves." "Well," I said as I grabbed Oliver who had escaped from the house, "we have a lot of leaves. How much for raking the front yard?" The man looked around. "Ten dollars?" I exhaled, knowing I didn't have that much cash. "I have a five-dollar bill and that's it. If you rake the planter and in front of the house, I'll give it to you." "O.K.," he smiled.

As soon as I got inside, I ran to my mom. "Do you have five dollars?" "No," she answered. "Why?" I explained the situation to her. We scoured the house looking for change. We managed to find four more dollars in quarters. I felt bad that he would have to carry them around from yard to yard so I called Kelly. "Listen, honey, there's a man who's raking our front yard. Do you have any cash?" I was banking on him saying no. My husband doesn't carry cash normally. "I do," he responded. "There should be some cash in my dirty jeans." "The dirty jeans I just put in the wash?" I asked.

I hung up the phone and frantically looked through the washing machine. I found the five-dollar bill and handed it off to my mom, who began blow drying it. When Kelly got home from lunch, the man was still raking up leaves. He took the money from me and walked it out to the guy. "We really like all the hard work you're doing. We apprecaite you and decided we wanted to give you an extra five dollars." The man looked overjoyed. Then he explained his story.

The man had made a few too many bad choices. His family members didn't want anything to do with him and he was working with a program to help get him back on his feet. The man was going around to all the houses in the area to see if he could get any work. He was trying to get to Kansas before Christmas to see his children.

Anyone else may have been weary letting a man whose past had ruined his present work around their house. But not once did that thought cross my mind. I just wanted to help him. Kelly and I ran over to Sonic to grab him a double cheeseburger for lunch before Kelly went back to work. When we offered him it, he gladly accepted. He sat in the sun and enjoyed his meal.

As he sat there eating, I knew God had sent him to my front door for a reason. Here was a man who was grateful just to have a burger and an hour's worth of work. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am. I take all that God has given me for granted. But I am eternally grateful to the man who knocked on my door. He reminded me that it's the simple things in life that matter.

If you've crossed paths with an angel in disguise, leave your story in the comments. I'd love to read them. I urge you to offer a needy stranger what you have the next time you come across one. In return for that ten dollars we gave a complete stranger, God blessed us with $25. I've watched that same man walk through our neighborhood today and get denied at every door. I think people forget life isn't about acquring more than you need. You can't take it to the grave with you. Life is about giving everything you have to those who need it more than you do. I've often told God if he blessed me with more money, I'd love to give it to those who need it. But what I had never expected him to teach me is that you can bless people with whatever you have. No amount is ever too small.