An Old Lesson Relearned

Our family had the joy of having Dr. Gary McKnight as a guest last Sunday night. He was flying out of Nashville to a choral series in Utah on Monday morning and asked if he could spend the night at our house. We were honored to have him.

If you don’t know Gary, you are missing out on a treat. He teaches at Freed-Hardeman University and directs one of the choruses there. When I was a student, he was the director of the Sonshine Singers–the group in which both Leah and I were involved. He also serves as an elder for the Henderson church of Christ.

When I was a student and sung with the Sonshine Singers, we often traveled and spent the night in the homes of brothers and sisters in Christ. Before we did, though, Gary always reminded us of a few “rules.” We were told, “If you don’t see it, don’t ask.” In other words, if there is not a towel in the bathroom, use whatever you have to in order to dry. If there is not a fork at supper, eat with whatever you can. You never know when the people you are staying with won’t have a certain thing, and you want to avoid embarrassment at any cost; after all, they are providing you with hospitality!

Also, we were told to always leave the room in which we were staying in the best shape we could. We were to make the bed and were to fold towels in the bathroom.

Those may sound like old-fashioned things, but they made a huge impact on those with whom we stayed.

Why am I bringing this up? For two reasons.

First, we all can use a little reminder about manners. Our manners often slip and we need to make sure we are thankful and show that gratefulness to hosts. No matter who we find ourselves around, let’s show proper manners.

Also, I wanted to share those memories because of what happened early the next morning. Gary had to leave our house before 4 AM to get to the airport. He had already told us not to get up. However, at 3:55, Mary Carol started crying. I walked out of our room and toward hers at 3:58 AM. What did I see?

A bed all made up with the lamp on beside it in our guest room…

…just the way it was when Gary arrived.

A true gentleman was our guest, and I’m grateful for the reminder.