I remember pushing my bike up the steep drive at Room In The Inn that first chilly night in mid November, the lights sparkling through the glass facade of the first floor like a beacon of hope. I was broken, tired, and so grateful that my long journey was at an end.
But as it turned out, there was no room for me that night. I was directed to the women’s mission on Rosa Parks and told to come back in the morning. That was my first hint that this was not going to be easy. When there is no respite for a desperate, exhausted old woman at a place called Room In The Inn, this was going to take some grit.
That winter at Room In The Inn was indeed an experience that required all the grit I could muster. But it was also the most profound, healing, inspiring time of my life. I was given opportunities to learn, to share, and to be grateful for who I was. The staff wrapped me in a warm cocoon of care and encouragement, dusted me off when I fell, and sent me right back out there to fall again.
They loved me in the truest sense of that word until I could love myself. It would be impossible for me to thank them enough for the kindness and support they showed me.
And now, the man who built that citadel of love, care and kindness overlooking Nashville, Tennessee, Charles Strobel, has died. The power of his unrelenting vision to bring comfort and dignity to the least among us has been taken from us. It may well be impossible to fill the void left by his passing.
Charles Strobel was a beacon of love and light in a very weary world. To know Charlie convinced you that he actually knew God in all his goodness personally — that they dined together regularly in communion, shared their concerns for mankind, and laughed at the same corny jokes. Charlie was a true man of God in a vast sea of pretenders. He is one of only two men I’ve met in my entire life about whom I can say that. Charlie was golden. We were enormously lucky to have his journey intersect ours.
Quite simply, Charles Strobel saved my life. I’m sure the tens of thousands of others he touched are thinking that same thing today. We should all be comforted to know that he is now in the loving arms of his God. May they continue to smile down on us!