Stray Blessings

When Matt was very young, he wanted a cat. I said “NO!” Patsy told him that if Daddy said “no,” he should go over Daddy’s head and ask God for a cat. Not long after, there appeared in our driveway, under the car, a tiny stray kitten that was much too young to be away from its mother.

I had been overruled. We had a kitten.

I should not have been surprised. After all, I come from a long line of people who took in “strays.” After my Grandmother Gilliland’s death, I learned that during the Great Depression, hobos had placed a chalk mark on the foundation of her house to indicate that she would feed anyone who was hungry. It might be only cornbread and milk, but a passing hobo could get a meal.

My parents were like that, too. As a child, I never knew who might show up at our dinner table, or who might be spending the night in our guest room. No one in need was ever turned away, and one of the great delights I remember from childhood was sitting at that dinner table, listening in wonderment as those unexpected visitors shared their lives with us. We enjoyed those guests, and the idea of showing hospitality to strangers was thoroughly ingrained in me.

Mother and Daddy made very real to me the Scripture that says: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” [Hebrews 13:2]

We still take in “strays.” My wife, Patsy, has been wonderful about taking in unexpected visitors, whether for a meal or for a night – or longer. She really does have a gift for hospitality, and she makes our home such a warm, welcoming place. Her gift is one that certainly does “keep on giving.”

Through the years there have been so many unplanned guests – I can’t begin to remember them all. Not all of our guests have been angels, of course, but I would have to say that each of them has blessed us in some special way. Yes – sometimes the blessing is more obvious, and then again, sometimes the strays seem to bite us. Still, although many of our friends think we’re crazy,  we don’t mind that such unexpected blessings continue to come our way.

Another such visitor arrived yesterday, thanks to a highway patrolman who went beyond the call of duty to make sure she was not left stranded at a truck stop. We enjoyed this new friend’s visit before putting her on a bus toward home this morning, and we considered ourselves blessed for the privilege.

As I drove back from the bus station today, it occurred to me that God apparently cares a great deal about strays. Jesus was saying that when He told the story about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, and one wandered off. He said that the shepherd left the ninety-and-nine in the fold while he went out looking for the stray, and He concluded, speaking of the Shepherd: “he rejoices over it [the stray] more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.” [Matt. 18:12-13, Luke 15:4-7]

Sometimes, the Lord allows us to get in on His outreach to wanderers.

Oh yes – about that kitten that showed up in the driveway – Matt named her “Blessing.”

A very appropriate name for a stray.