Inspirational: A very special meal

By. Mirabai Chrin
Once there was a very poor and devoted woman
who always prayed to the Glory of God, asking
very little, if anything for herself. But one
thought, one desire continued to recur and finally
she asked: petitioning the Lord, that if it were
possible she would love to prepare a special
meal and have God share at her table. And God,
in His Love for this goodly woman, said He would
indeed come the next day and share a meal.
Filled with ecstasy, the woman went out the
following morning with her meager purse and
purchased such delicacies that she felt would
please the Lord.
Returning home, she prepared a banquet and
waited patiently for her most honored guest.
Soon there was a knock on the door, and when
she opened it, there stood an old beggar asking
for something to eat. Being a woman of God, she
could not turn the beggar away, so she invited
him in to partake of her table. The beggar felt as
if he was in a dream - such a feast set before
him. He finished all the food, thanked his hostess
and left.
The woman was only slightly disheartened, she
gathered up her purse, her coat, and hurried back
to town to get more food for her special guest.
Her funds were less now and so the food was
not quite so elaborate. Nonetheless, she lovingly
prepared another meal and sat to await the
arrival of the Almighty.
A few hours went by and there was a loud knock
on the door. This time it was an old gypsy
woman with no teeth, who was deaf, who spoke
quite loudly and was, rather rudely, insisting that
any true believer in the Lord would not deny her
something to eat.
Though the woman had no more money with
which to buy more supplies, she invited the
woman in and offered her a seat at the table.
The gypsy ate everything, did not even thank the
woman and left without closing the door.
By now it was beginning to get dark both inside
and out. The woman's faith was strong, so that,
though somewhat distraught, she did not give up,
but rather, looked around her humble house to
see if there was anything she could sell in order
to buy more food to set before the Lord.
She hurried to town with a little silver cup that
had been in her family for several generations,
but she was willing to part with it for the great
honor that God was going to bestow on her - the
sharing of a meal.
Late in the night she rushed home to prepare yet
a third meal. She waited and waited until, once
more, there was a knock on the door. Holding
her breath, she slowly opened the door to find
yet another poor man in the guise of a wandering
monk, in search of a meal.
Again, she offered hospitality, with as much
grace as she could muster in her disappointment.
This man also ate all that was set on the table
and left after blessing the woman for her
kindness. So discouraged and dismayed was she
that all she could do was nod slightly, in
acknowledgment of the thanks.
Now it was too late, with no way to buy any
more food and no more money with which to buy
it. She got down on her knees, weeping such
heart-broken tears. She asked God what she had
done wrong. Why had God not come to share at
the table as He had promised?
And God, in all His Divine Compassion and
Mercy, lifted the woman off her knees, and
holding her close to His Heart, said, "My child, I
enjoyed your hospitality so much that I came
three times!"
With a very special thank you to Mirabai Chrin for
sharing this beautiful story with us. This story
will be included in Mirabai's upcoming book about
'cooking with spirit.'