We were trying to beat the storm as we stopped briefly at a fire station in Warsaw, Indiana. "Do you have an update on the storm?" I asked the firefighters who were leisurely sitting at their station but observing the weather reports. "It looks like it’s going to be a bad one," they said.
The series of storms were tracking across northern Indiana as we tried to make our way home to Elkhart. We were driving a small car with my young family. Driving a Chevette was rather cramped as our two boys strapped in the backseat with our baby daughter taking up much of the room in her car seat. "I think we can make it," I said to Cindi. Prompted by what the firefighter said it seemed as if the storm would allow us a quick yet safe passage through a back road so that we could get home before the worst of the storm was to hit. There were threats of tornadoes and heavy rain and even hail. There were pop-up showers everywhere.
We quickly made our way along our usual path, through back road that met up with State Road 19. The sky was looking rather grim but we felt the assurance that we could get through this area and be ahead of the storm. That was a big mistake.
As the skies opened up and the heavy rains fell we felt the battering of the winds. I quickly turned on the radio which was issuing alerts all along the area that we were traveling. "We’re not gonna make it," I said to Cindi yet trying to convey a sense of confidence for the sake of the kids. She could see the look on my face which was one of worry and anxiety. We both thought the same thing, we’re going to have to stop somewhere and seek shelter. We were in the middle of the country with very few houses. As the storm was getting worse I decided to go ahead and stop at one of the houses in hopes that we could seek shelter from a stranger.
As the rain poured I frantically knocked on the door on the little white house. Never mind my anxiety for the storm I never considered the fear of a stranger answering the door. "I am sorry to bother you but I have my family in the car and it looks like a tornado is in the vicinity. May we come in?" I said to an older lady. With little regard for herself she quickly said, "Yes, indeed, bring your family in, and quickly."
I motioned that was okay to come in and quickly went out into the pouring rain to gather the children. We were soaking wet as we enter the house but our host and stranger quickly gathered up a few towels to rush us into the basement. "Thank you, thank you very much!" my wife said. We were relieved that we were out of the storm but concerned about the seriousness of the situation. The storm still loom and yet threatened. On the radio we were hearing reports of serious damage in the area. Spotter alerts had indicated that even the road that we were traveling on had a tornado that was on the ground and the rain-wrapped threat was nearby. We stayed sheltered in place for nearly an hour as we were hunkered down into the basement hearing the winds and rain that pound against the house.
To our relief the storm did passed and the stranger and host became our dearest friend. Her hospitality provided us the safety we needed and we were soon to learn how close we came to the danger as we made our way home later that evening. Indeed a tornado did touch the ground and within a mile of our shelter there was substantial damage that gave clear evidence that was all too real to us.
I share the story with you because even twenty-five years later the emotion of that evening still seems to course through my veins and upon reflection caused my heart to beat a little extra. Cindi and I often reflect on that moment and even our kids remember the fear of that afternoon storm and the shelter from a stranger. Years followed and whenever we passed that home that served as our shelter our children pointed out the car window and they would say, "There it is!"
Events in our lives seem to offer moral lessons for ourselves and our children. It seems as though the ministry we were to be involved in seemed to be impacted by that one experience. Often our home became the place for strangers when I would pick up people hitchhiking or those who needed a warm meal. My wife knew that we were the shelter for someone in need. Even years later when we became licensed foster parents we were the strangers who were offering shelter to youth at risk. For years we offered a safe shelter for teenagers who needed a safe place from their family and even the harm they were to themselves. Teenagers who are proned to negative conditions would eventually find a place of nurture and boundaries of care. My wife knew how to create hospitality, even at times feeding 15 or more around our table as other youth would gather. We spent many meals talking about hopes and dreams with those teenagers. That was our form of evangelism. As they talked we would simply say, "I believe you can do that." We would instill their value in God and His ability to help them fulfill their dreams.
There were risks of course but the rewards were greater. Being able to help another person was far more of an impact on our own lives than what we could ever provide for those we attempted to serve. Our rewards came through the feelings of doing good and helping others as well as the occasional words of thanksgiving. There’s something motivational about helping others that can only be explained by the feelings we would experience.
Of course not every metaphor in a story meets with every situation. There was excitement and fear of a thunderstorm by no means a comparison to the routine placement of a child in a strangers home. There are similarities but the raging storm that has often impacted a child or teen is in out-of-home placement had passed by the time they came to our home. There certainly were feelings and concerns that a child felt coming into the home of a stranger but we seldom took shelter in a basement and worrying about the damage of a passing thunderstorm.
Shelter of a stranger means being willing to be a person of hospitality while also being prepared through prayer to meet the needs of another. We always welcomed the opportunity but seldom realize the full impact of what we were presenting to our family. As we opened our home to foster children we were always reminded to be completely dependent on the Lord to guide and even help us to love someone who was also a stranger to us. But at the same time it was also easy because there were simple acts of kindness that we could provide that became solutions to ease the tension and provide care to those seeking shelter at our door step. Just as the stranger in the storm twenty-five years earlier provided towels and even freshly baked cookies to us the strangers at her doorstep, we too could provide simple acts of kindness. I don’t mean to say that being a foster parent is always easy. Yes, there are challenges but if we start with the basics, somehow God is able to equip us and provide for every need.
