“Eh, yes… yes sir, I do…” I wanted to explain that I don’t believe in Jesus and was certainly not Christian but I would be caught off-guard by the rancher’s courteous request.
"Good, then I’d be honored if you would lead us in prayer.”
I felt an oddly familiar warmth as I recited the prayer. I hadn’t said that prayer out loud since I was sixteen. I felt in the deepest part of my soul, that it no longer mattered what I believed or didn’t believe. I sat at a table where people were bound by a spirit of generosity and peace that had been missing in the midst of the chaos of the previous week.
A Time Ago and Then
Chpt. 4: The Pillow Shack,
G.B. Couper
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Shelter from the storm, which is sometimes the absolute best I can offer the wanderer. I am always surprised at how generous and compassionate people have been in my life and because of those people it is imperative to remember those times in my life when I was waylaid and taken into homes where the grace and peace that abided there gave me respite from my troubles. I don’t believe that I would have taken more than that in those times because I wasn’t ready. Had I been offered a job and a place to live, it is most probable that I wouldn’t have taken it. Those would have been acts of charity beyond my grasp. However, what's more important for me to remember is that I can be available and willing to give shelter from the storm to the wanderer momentarily even if I can’t offer more. That grace can amount to nothing more than a kind word. The truth is, I can’t remember what we had for dinner that evening over four decades ago but I do remember the kindness served at that table. The example of God’s grace was more pertinent than what was said and it was that example that has staying power in my life today.
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