We were minding our own business yesterday. Kevin was working on a fire pit project, and I was working on some things inside the house. Maddie had her usual Sunday afternoon lesson with her usual student, and they were riding at the back of the property. However, when Maddie and crew came riding back up the hill, there was someone else with them.

Yep, it was this little guy.

As you might imagine, we see dogs out here all the time. Some, we’ve discovered, belong to neighbors, and others have just passed through once, never to be seen or heard from again. But we’ve never seen this one. Young, with no identification, and very, very friendly, he didn’t leave Maddie’s side all afternoon. Then he discovered that Kevin was up by the house, and he planted himself in what he determined to be a helpful place. Later, when I walked outside, I found Kevin calling him “Mikey.”

It was then I knew that all was lost.

He spent the night in our barn, and today, Maddie will take him to the vet to be scanned for a microchip, and try the rest of the neighbors that we didn’t reach yesterday. At the end of the day, however, I fully expect to have another dog in the family.

Life is funny. Unexpected things are always being thrown at us, or simply dropped in our laps. Sometimes those unexpected things are human beings who show up out of the blue, and you discover they aren’t just passing through. It seems they’ve decided to stay a while because they need some help or support or maybe just some kind attention. These kinds of things are usually never in our plan, but I think what we do with them is what determines the quality of our lives and who we are as people.

Do we see them coming and look the other way? Do we send a clear message that sends them to the curb? Or do we invite them into whatever we’re doing, sharing our lives as we live them?

Jesus said to welcome the unexpected stranger because you never know when you might be entertaining an angel, unaware. I believe it’s true. Keep your eyes open to the surprise interruptions in your life today. They just might walk in on two legs.

Or four.

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 NIV

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14 ESV