He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

A few Sundays ago at our church, St. Catherine’s Anglican Church in Stuttgart, an English lady I’d never seen before stood up and invited all single people to her house for dinner that evening. Later, as we were having coffee and cake after church, she approached us and invited our family to come too since not many singles had accepted her offer. I declined, explaining that we had two young children (who, I was thinking, would destroy her fancy dinner). But she was insistent, and something about her seemed so likable and sincere. I let her talk me into it with the caveat that I be allowed to bring food too.

So we drove into the hills that evening to have dinner with people we had never met before that day. We took wine, homemade tortellini salad, and a bag of toys to entertain the kids. We were all excited to make new friends when I suddenly panicked. Who are these people? Why did they invite us if they don't know us? Oh Lord, what if they are going to try to sell us Amway or get us to join a cult?

But I need not have worried. We ended up having a lovely evening. Twelve adults sat around a long table and the four children sat outside at the patio table. We enjoyed four delicious courses, including squash soup, salads, stuffed pork chops, and three German desserts. But the most wonderful part was the diversity of our group. There were two Nigerians, one New Zealander, two Germans, two English, four Indians, and five Americans. We all laughed and drank wine and talked about Monty Python, soccer, travel, food, theater, and family. Nobody brought up politics or religion. Claire and Luke ran and played tag with two beautiful little Indian girls. It was lovely. We started out as strangers, and after an evening of conversation we became friends. What a gift. And not once did anyone try to sell anything. How many people would open their home and spend all day cooking wonderful food for strangers for no reason other than to be kind? It’s sad that we expected an ulterior motive. This was a genuine act of generosity that was truly inspiring.