I know we took a chance when we let the man come in, but we had no other chioce: it was snowing and cold outside; the poor bum didn't have any warm clothes on, and he was physically shaking from the cold winds. 

The man didn't talk much; when he did, it sounded like he was talking out of his head.  We were concerned about him, but it was better than having him stay outside and possibly freezing to death.

The man was named Charlie.  He told us that people called him "Charlie-The-Crazy".  It was obvious he had some sort of mental problem.  He didn't take very good care of himself: he was disheveled, and he smelled rather ripe.  I felt sorry for him, and so did my family.

The man seemed grateful that we took the time to let him in.  He thanked us more than once.  He seemed to enjoy the delicious smells of homemade beef soup with pasta noodles and fresh veggies cooking on the stove; he looked very happy as he smelled the odors wafting through the kitchen.  We showed him the way to the bathroom and we told him to wash up for dinner; he was our guest.

While Charlie was getting ready to have supper with us, my wife pulled me aside and asked me why I let a bum into our house; she didn't feel very comfortable with him being here in the first place.  I told her that the poor guy looked like he was cold, and he also looked like he'd missed several meals; it couldn't hurt to feed him just once.

She accepted my answer and tried to remain hospitable to our (unexpected) guest.  The children remained silent, but they sat there in their chairs like miniature statues and stared pop-eyed at the man as he ate his soup.  He ate hungrily and greedily.  This was probably the best meal he had in God only knows how long.

Charlie must have been hungry.  He had four bowls of soup and two helpings of the regular entree.  He then doffed his beat-up fedora, put on his threadbare coat and scarf, thanked us for feeding him, and then lurched his way out the front door, nearly falling over himself as he did so.  We were scared that Charlie would fall, but somehow, he remained upright.

Even though we felt uncomfortable with having a homeless bum in our midst, it did give us a good feeling inside to know that we helped slake his hunger (even if only for a little while) and let him warm up in the process.  I know God must have been smiling down on us as we entertained/fed our visitor.  I know Charlie-The-Crazy probably felt better too in having a full belly and a place to warm up for about an hour.  God will probably reward us with extra jewels in our crowns for being so compassionate to "the least of these".

The whole scenario gave us food for thought (pun intended).  It made us realize just how blessed we truly are because there are many people who don't have what we do.  I'm just glad we were there to help a man down on his luck when it seemed to count the most!