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From Terry Hershey in The Power of Pause

A friend told me about the nativity play at her parish.  A little girl played the role of the innkeeper.  Mary and Joseph (Joseph resplendent in his The Power of Pause dad’s bathrobe) knocked on the door in the inn and asked, “Is there any room in your inn?”

The innkeeper looked at Mary and Joseph, and then looked out at the pastor.  She looked again at Mary and Joseph, and then looked out at the pew where her parents sat.  She looked again at Mary and Joseph, and said, “Oh well, come on in for a drink.”

Now that’s the spirit.  That’s the Christmas spirit.  “Come on in.”  That little girl wasn’t just saying lines, she was feeling it.  She had compassion and she couldn’t stand to slam the door shut in Mary and Joseph’s faces.  She made space for them even though she was overbooked.

Can we make space in our lives for those who are powerless, overwhelmed, lonely, and hurting?

Photo Credit: William Beem