Strangers on the road

"I can't find a hotel anywhere in Milwaukee" my buddy reported in an email a week ago, "what's going on there this weekend?"


The Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary is taking over this town this weekend---and even if Brian would have checked 6 months ago, I'm not sure he would have found something. This town is wall to wall with the roar of bikes---and each day gets crazier. He was stuck--it was to be a father-daughter trip to Milwaukee to hang out for the weekend, and there was no room at the inn.

I offered for them to stay at our place. It would be cramped, we're off in a million different directions this weekend, but the door would have been open. It meant that we would have needed to perform a better than usual cleaning of the house---and between football practices and school starting this week, Suzanne having to rebuild her renovated classroom before Tuesday, and me doing the 8 to 5 downtown--it would have been a crunch.

I'm always struck by Biblical hospitality. There was no such thing as a reservation. Someone would arrive unexpectedly and accommodations would be offered on the spot. Remember when Abraham's servant showed up at Nahor scouting for a wife for Isaac? He barely got the camels watered before he was making plans to stay for the night. My favorite is the stranger on the road to Emmaus. Two guys, just walking along, are joined by Jesus whom they were prevented from recognizing. They walked a long way, it was getting dark, and they offered a place to stay to this near total stranger (a very amazing and wonderful stranger).

Don't you wish it was still like that? I understand why it can't be---the world is too nutty for us to grab folks off the road and have them curl up on the sleeper sofa. But I also know that there are households who are constantly offering guest room, sofa, and floor space to travelers. Perhaps it's his missionary background, but I do think that my pastor has guests in his home more often than not.

Maybe the Super 8 living room isn't open as much as it should be, but I still see examples of hospitality to strangers every single day. A new bus driver blew the route the other morning and was way too early---stranding a bunch of riders. One driver offered to take everyone downtown. I've seen people chase windblown items for others, escort lost motorists back to the proper routes, and stop and translate for people who struggle with our language.

Brian and daughter are headed to the Dells this weekend instead. We'll go to the high school football game tonight, perform regular cleaning and housework tomorrow, and look for other opportunities through the weekend to help out if we can.

Just call ahead, ok? I'm sure there's underwear on the floor I've missed.