Dude. No Room in the Inn.

While in Bethlehem, she went into labor and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them. –

Luke 2:6-7

In my years of serving as a youth minister, this one memory ranks up there as an all time favorite…

I advertised this trip as a “mystery worship service” and asked the youth to meet me at the church and we would depart via church vans at 6:00 p.m. sharp. It was cold that evening as the sun was setting and, slowly, youth began to show up for the mystery adventure. After they had all arrived, I grabbed my guitar and we headed out onto the streets of Tyler, Texas. It wasn’t far into our trip when the van started to shake and we had to pull over in a parking lot where, coincidentally, there was a hotel located across the street. I told the youth something was wrong with the van and we would have to just press on with an impromptu worship service. The solution was to walk over to the hotel and ask the manager if we could quietly have a small service in the lobby. Seriously. Who would have a problem with that? As I walked into the hotel with 30 youth in tow, I asked the manager if she would mind our meeting in the back of the lobby and her response? “Sorry. We have a big group coming in and there’s no space for you. But, you could meet out back by our dumpster and have your worship service back there.” I reluctantly agreed and walked outside in the cold with the youth complaining the. Entire. Way. As we took our places in the cold, gathered around the dumpster, that’s when it happened. One youth looked up, grabbed his friend and shouted out, “Dude. No room in the inn!”

I love it when a plan comes together. I had been planning “Operation: Dumpster Worship” for weeks and it all worked out beautifully. Funny. I still have some of those same youth – now married with kids – mention this trip to me around this time every year.

Here’s today’s thought: Even though some 2,000-plus years separate us from that starry night and the familiar story of the manger and the inn with no vacancy, we can still find ourselves in the story.

My prayer for you today, my friend, take a deep breath. Slow down. Remember the story, and then, get lost in the wonder.