The Good Samaritan Lives!

The good Samaritan still lives and he's still doing his work. How do I know? I know because I met him and witnessed what he did. Alright.. this obviously isn't the same good Samaritan from the gospel but he has the same nature. I volunteer weekly at an area homeless shelter. I do it to pursue personal and spiritual growth by serving the shelter and it's clients. As you might imagine I meet a broad spectrum of people there. Those personal encounters keep my ego in check and help keep me balanced by being thankful for how I've been blessed.

On one particular evening a man, I'll call him Joe, came into the shelter escorting a younger couple. I introduced myself and asked if I could help them. Joe had been a former volunteer at the shelter and currently facilitates a local AA meeting. The couple showed up at the meeting and had nowhere to go after. Joe knew from his experience as a volunteer that the shelter was for men only and couldn't receive a married couple. He was hoping that he and I could search the resources on file and find a temporary housing solution for this couple.

We made several phone calls to agencies and support outlets. Unfortunately, because it was already evening a solution couldn't be found by navigating the established channels. Joe asked me to call some local motels and get their nightly rates. We found a vacancy at a reasonable rate and Joe said he was going to take the couple there. As they began exiting the shelter I pulled Joe aside and asked "what are you going to do, are you going to pay for their room?" His direct, unwavering response "yeah..no one else is going to do it."

I was impressed by his generosity and compassion for two people he had only met hours ago. I was also a little ashamed of myself. I thought "Wow! he's the good Samaritan", he was living the gospel, "Love one another as I have loved you."  I don't know if I could do what he did, but Joe's an inspiration and a great man.