Everyday with Harry...

I've never read the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" but Mark and I are living our own version currently with an elderly man from church, Harry. He's a single, never been married, gentleman who is in his 80's. He's retired from Boeing, has lived in the same basement apartment for years and has been a member at SFC since he moved to Seattle years ago. He's a very sweet little man...I say that because he is really little - about 5' 4" tall and weighs no more than 125 lbs dripping wet.

We've been worried about Harry recently because he's becoming more forgetful, getting to church and then not remembering whether he drove or rode the bus, losing his coat and keys, showing up for Tuesday morning bible study on Wednesday...things of that nature. He also seems to only eat when he's at church - our associate Tim and his wife had started taking their left overs from dinner each night, putting them in the church fridge with Harry's name on them. He's been complaining of his back aching so Mark took him to the doctor last week...they scheduled some follow-up appointments and Mark stopped by his apartment with Harry after the apointment....because of the appointments - wanting to make sure Harry gets to them - the condition of his apartment, and the fear we have about him being taken advantage of, Harry moved into our guestroom last night. There is a possibility of him moving in with his sister that we are working on, so it will probably only be short-term.

Having people live with us is something, over the years, that Mark and I have frequently done. Its funny, because, although it can be inconvenient...it happens to be something I enjoy. My mom loves to say to me, "Oh you can't do that to yourself" when I tell her of our latest houseguest....but I partially blame my parents for my being okay with others in our home. My mom and dad are two of the most hospitable people I know. They frequently opened our guestroom to people throughout my childhood...twice we had whole families living with us - people who had moved to Seattle and were looking for places to live and I remember at least two other friends of ours staying with us while looking for housing. Those are just the longer-term situations I remember that were friends of ours in transition.

I also remember the Native American single mother my mom somehow got in contact with whose newborn baby had been transferred to Children's Hospital. Her baby died very shortly after she arrived here and mom brought the mother home to stay with us for a few days until she could return home. This doesn't include all the one-night guests - missionaries, friends, relatives, etc. that made their way through our home. I love how my parents didn't have different standards for different people, all were treated like family and given the best of what we had....thanks for the lesson in hospitality mom and dad.

So, because of this, we have "Everyday with Harry"....and other stories to tell later in life from Mark and my home. I can see already how easily my kids adjust. This morning, at the breakfast table, Harry patiently listened as Will talked his leg off about Spiderman and other superheros. Any person who will listen for that long to my kid is welcome here....who knows if he could hear him! So for now, we're hanging out with Harry - maybe we'll get a book deal out of it! Just kidding...he's one of the "Least of these..." how can you say no to that?