Welcome, Stranger
The young widow had faced many hardships, but when her house
burned down, the rural community thought she might be forced to move.
She did.
She moved her seven children into the unheated granary on her farm, bundling
them up every night against the chill. Even though she had precious little to
offer, anytime someone needed some food or a helping hand, she gave.
She hoped to build a home in the spring, but for now, the
winter of 1911 was brutal in the granary. A few weeks before Christmas, the bitter wind blew snowdrifts higher and higher against their shelter.
One late afternoon, as a blizzard raged outside, there was a knock on the door. Miles from the nearest neighbor, the widow wondered who'd be out in the storm.
She rose to answer the door and quickly led a man inside, offering him some cold stew.
Wide-eyed kids quietly observed the stranger—after he ate, the widow gave the man several wool blankets and told him he could sleep in the barn.
In the morning, the man asked the widow about the wooden planks that were stacked in piles in the barn. She told them they were for the house she
hoped to have built.
He asked for the building plans—which the widow handed him. He then asked if he could cut the boards for her. The man stayed for several days—hand sawing each board to the specifications.
The following spring, when the community came to help the
widow build the house, every board fit together perfectly.
No one knew who the stranger was that passed through during
the snowstorm. But the widow was certainly thankful she answered the door—and
perhaps unaware, she’d welcomed an angel.
Remember to welcome strangers, because some who
have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2
