The Angel's Couch

Her name is Jess.
She is a girlfriend of a friend of my roomates, and one morning about a week ago, I woke up to find her sleeping on our couch. And there she has been, every night ever since.
I've gotten bits and pieces of her stories over the past week. She has graduated high school and is planning to attend college in South Georgia, which will begin next week. A little while ago her mother decided that she would not allow Jess to attend college and refused to sign the loan she needed for school, for reasons unknown. Undeterred, Jess went out and got the loan anyway, and when she told her mother, her mom kicked her out of the house.
Needing a place to stay, she ended up on our couch, and she's been a part of our community ever since.
One of the great things about our house is that we are always entertaining guests. A roomate's sister is doing an internship and has been occupying the guest bedroom for about a month now. When Shane Claiborne came to Atlanta, his film crew threw their sleeping bags on our floor.
All our guests have left an impression, but none like Jess. She is a living reminder that the world outside our house is not always as kind as the one we try to make inside our home. Every night I drive home and see the problems - the street walkers and corner loiterers, the drug pushers and the prostitutes, and the despair and desperation that waits around every turn.
Then I come home and wait for Jess to show up. She usually arrives well after I have gone to bed, but in the morning there she is. She is a living reminder of the despair, how family can let us down. But she is also a reminder of the power of hope and faith. She is an incarnate testament to not being defined by circumstances.
This weekend Jess will leave for college and we will miss her. She is not much of a talker, but despite her quietness she has left an impression. There's a lot of talk these days in Christian circles about the recovery of hospitality as a vital practice. Its not only a vital practice but has been a great gift to our community.
That's because in offering a lumpy couch to this strong and beautiful woman, I know that we've entertained an angel, whether we were aware of it or not.