The Man Hidden in the Bed

“I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” — Matthew 25:35

After Amanda’s family was free, they lived on a farm in Pennsylvania. Their little house became a secret safe place. When people ran away from slavery, tired and frightened, they came to Samuel Berry, and he helped them travel on to freedom, often in the dark of night.

This was dangerous work, and cruel men watched the house closely, hoping to catch someone.

One morning, while it was still early, Amanda’s father was out feeding the pigs. Looking up, he saw four men on horseback riding toward the house. There was no time to run inside. So he called out to his wife, “Mother, I see four men coming; do the best you can.”

Amanda’s mother was quick and brave. A man who had escaped was hiding upstairs. In a flash she brought him down and hid him inside the bed, tucked beneath the mattress. Then she laid her own little two-year-old son on top, sleeping.

The men searched everywhere. They looked upstairs and in the kitchen. They even peeked at the sleeping child in the bed — but they never found the man hidden underneath. They rode away, and soon the man was safely on his way north.

Amanda’s mother used her courage and her cleverness to protect someone who needed help. When God gives you a chance to be kind to someone in trouble, you can be brave and helpful, too.

Dear God, make me brave and kind like Amanda’s mother. Help me to care for anyone who needs a safe and gentle friend. Amen.