“Did you hear someone knock on the door?” the elderly woman said to her husband as they settled down in their cozy bed for the night.
“No, I didn’t hear anything. Who would knock at our door at this late hour?”
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“I just heard it again. You better go check.”
The old man got out of bed. He stumbled across the room to get his robe and, still half asleep, went downstairs. He found the key on a shelf just inside the door and partly opened it to see a bearded, tired-looking man pulling a donkey with a young woman asleep, sitting on the donkey’s back.
“What do you want?” the husband angrily asked.
“We were told this is an inn,” the man said. “We traveled a great distance to register in the city of David and need a place to stay.”
“Yes, this is an inn, but all of our rooms are full. You should have come earlier. So, good night.”
“But, my wife is going to have a baby. We desperately need a place to stay to get out of this cold and find a warm place. There must be somewhere we can stay.”
“I’m sorry, but there is just no room. Hundreds of other people have also come to register. Bethlehem is a small town. This is the only inn and, as I said, there is no room. Now please go away so we can get some sleep. It has been a busy day.”
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The innkeeper’s wife came downstairs to see what was the matter.
“This man wants a room and there is none. I just told him to go away.”
“But my wife is with child,” repeated the traveler.
The innkeeper’s wife looked out the door and saw the young woman on the donkey. The wife had children of her own and she felt what the young woman was now feeling.
She looked at her husband and said, “What about the barn? That would be someplace and there is fresh straw that our stable man put in today.”
The traveler overheard the wife and said, “The stable would be fine. We can sleep on the straw. The animals will help keep us warm.”
The innkeeper was unwilling but relented with the pleading of his wife.
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“Okay, you can stay in the barn but I will charge you the same rate.”
The compassionate wife intercedes and tells the couple, “We will charge you only half the rate.”
The husband didn't say anything.
“The stable is across the street. Just open the door and let yourself in. We can talk more in the morning. I hope you get a good night’s sleep. You both look very tired.”
“Thank you for your kindness. Yes, we are exhausted and my wife is going to have her baby soon.”
The innkeeper and his wife went upstairs to return to their warm bed.
“Maybe we should have let them sleep downstairs,” the wife said.
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“Definitely not! Before long other people will stop and want us to make room. They were lucky we gave them the stable to sleep in. I hope they don’t start a fire or something. Why can’t travelers learn to plan ahead? Good night.”
The couple were just about to fall asleep when, through their window, they saw a massive light over the Bethlehem hills outside of town.
“What is that light?” asked the wife. “Look at it. It’s huge. It’s like the whole sky is on fire.”
“Oh, it’s probably those darn shepherds who started a big fire to keep warm. Don’t worry about it. Now go to sleep. I don’t want to have any more interruptions this evening. I’m too tired. The light means nothing.”
The wife stared out the window at this spectacular distant light that rose way, way up into the sky.
“Yes, it probably is nothing.”
The wife continued to look at the light and was mesmerized by its brightness.
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“Please go to sleep. Before you know it, it will be morning and we have a lot of work to do with all of our guests, not to mention the couple in the stable. Who knows what trouble they will bring.”
The wife returned to bed but continued to look at the light. She said to herself, “Why do I have this feeling that we are missing something special? Could the light mean something?”
Riddle: What did one ornament say to the other ornament? (Answer: I’m getting tired of just hanging around. Take time to hang around and enjoy all that Christmas means. Don’t miss anything.)
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Merry Christmas to everyone and every organization that encourages our young people to graduate.
John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.
The Trust Project
