"it'll come back to me"

King of Prussia, PA

It didn't work out for us to go to Philadelphia this weekend; both the Cramers' friends were out of town. And we were tired and dirty. We still had a considerable amount of money from large gifts, though, so we found a motel on our route and got a room, spending about half of what we had left. It wasn't the best motel we've been in (and overpriced), but it was the only one around, and we both were really glad to get clean and sleep in a bed. There was a coin laundry there, too. No change available, however, or laundry soap. But then we asked a family living in the motel (long-term, apparently) and they made change for us, and provided soap for free. "I don't need to charge you," she said when Heather offered. "It'll come back to me."

I think it was good, too, to experience the situation of low-income people there, being overcharged for poor quality housing. And having to accept it because there just isn't anything else around that's affordable. It felt like we came through it cleanly, though, feeling good, because all our needs were met, and we enjoyed being together through it, and I also felt good about the kindness of the family we met there. The generosity of the poor. They also seemed to be enjoying each other (playing in a plastic kiddie pool when I met them), even though their living situation wasn't great.

I wonder if finding "home" in a situation like that is similar to finding home while out on the road? Finding home that has more to do with relationship than location? Or finding home in God no matter where we are?

So now our money is down to what I'm used to. We had also sent some ahead to Washington, DC, to pay for bus tickets, since it looks like we'll need a little help to stay ahead of the weather in about a month. After visiting friends in DC, we'll probably take a bus down to North Carolina (about a month's walk) and then continue walking from there.

I'm grateful we had been given the means to pay these extra expenses. And even glad, in a way, to be getting low on money again. I don't want to be trusting our purse. As we heard on Sunday:

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Lk 12.32-34)