Almost 20 years ago I met a preacher's wife at a women's conference I attended. At the time we met, she and her husband were going through a tough time with the church Jim was ministering to. I made a pledge to Margaret that for the next year I would be available as a sounding board as they worked through the problems in their church. I promised to answer her emails with a return email. I remembered her birthdays and other special occasions. I called her from time to time to chat and make sure she was doing okay. Our friendship did not stop after that first year.
This weekend was supposed to be filled with chores such as catching up on laundry and getting the house in order. This Thursday we're heading south on a short vacation, to visit friends and attend a wedding. Instead it became yet another opportunity for us to open our home (we had two sets of guests last week.) At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning our phone rang - it was Margaret. Her brother has passed away in Missouri, and she needed to take an early plane out of Columbus on Sunday morning. She wanted to know if she could spend the night with us.
Have you ever noticed that encouraging others doesn't always come in a neat little package, tied up with a shiny bow? Instead our opportunities to encourage sometimes come at inopportune moments, or when we just don't feel like encouraging! But, I've found that these are God's little nudges to remind us that others have refreshed our faith and spirit along the way. Others have often sacrificed time and money to keep our faith in Christ strong.
Five a.m. came early this morning. Margaret is now on the plane heading to Missouri. From beginning to end, she was here less than 12 hours. Will God give me back the time I lost (or thought I lost) doing the things still on my agenda? Absoultely! He's already given it back to me this morning, with a beautiful sunrise that I would have missed had I still been in bed. The cool of the morning that is currently drifting through my patio door has deposted a sparkling "dew on the roses." As I sit here writing this, the birds sing their happy tunes, and all is well with my world! And, my laundry? It'll get done before we leave Thursday...
- author, Cindy Daniels
Do you have a special place in your home where guests can stay on a moments notice? It could be a guest room, a futon, a pull out couch or a sleeping bag! Tell me a story of when you opened your home but hadn't planned to.
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