One Momentous Night

Christmas! The time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We've all heard the story; about how He was born in a stable and slept in a manger because there was no room in the inn.
But what of the innkeeper? What happened when the realization struck of who he had turned away?
This is his story. . .

It was late in the evening in the town of Bethlehem, and the keeper of a particular inn was busy finding room for all of the guests who kept pouring in from out of town. After a while, it became apparent that there was not room for anymore people. So when someone would come looking for a place to stay, he had to turn them away to find someplace else.
Once it had quieted down, he retreated to the room he shared with his wife. He was exhausted, and so it wasn't long before sleep welcomed him into its torpid embrace.
It seemed like only a few seconds later - when in reality it had been an hour - that he awoke to his wife nudging him. It was then that he heard desperate knocking at the door.
"Go and see who's knocking." his wife said sleepily.
So he got up and answered the door.
"Hello." the man on the other side of the door said. "We need a place to stay for the night."
He gestured behind him to a girl sitting on the back of a donkey. The girl was clearly pregnant and in pain.
"I'm sorry, but we have no more room here." the innkeeper said.
"But she's about to give birth!" the man argued. "Surely you could-"
"We're full." the keeper repeated. "But I'm sure there's somewhere else that could take you."
"We've already tried everywhere else." the man said. Just then, the girl let out a cry of pain.
"We're out of room." the innkeeper said, suddenly unable to maintain eye-contact with the couple. "I'm really sorry." With that, he shut the door and went back to his bed.
"Who was there?" his wife asked.
"I don't know." he answered. "It was just a girl; just a couple gypsies begging at the door. But I told them we don't have room for anymore."
"Oh." his wife replied before turning over and going back to sleep.
The innkeeper tried to do the same, but this time, sleep would not come. After a while, he got up - careful not to wake his slumbering wife - and went outside, thinking that maybe some fresh air would help.
As he walked around, he noticed light coming from his stable.
'That's strange.' he thought to himself. Then he heard a pained cry come from inside.
Quietly, he made his way over to the stable and knelt beside the door, keeping out of sight of whoever might be inside. He slowly peeked inside, and what he saw astonished him; it was the couple from earlier! He watched as the girl picked up a tiny, naked baby and wrapped it in swaddling clothes.
The innkeeper quickly pulled his head back and leaned against the outside of the stable.
'What have I done?' he worried. 'He's just a babe!' He peeked back inside to see the girl placing the newborn in the manger.
'I could have found a room for them to stay.' the innkeeper thought. Sadly, he got up and started walking away from the stable. When he looked up from the ground, he saw a group of shepherds heading towards his stable.
"Excuse me!" he said. "Where are you going?"
"To see the Messiah!" one of them answered.
'The Messiah!' the innkeeper thought, shocked. Then he remembered all of the prophesies that told of the Messiah's coming, and he became weak in the knees. The Messiah had finally come! A king had been born in his stable. There was no robe, no crown, but that baby was a king nonetheless. The shepherds stood on royal ground.
The innkeeper dropped to his knees and wept, ashamed at what he'd done. He'd turned away God's own Son!
Once he had somewhat pulled himself together, the innkeeper got up and joined the shepherds at the stable.
The girl seemed so calm, just sitting there quietly, watching. And the innkeeper wondered if she knew. Did she know that she just changed the world? That, one day, that little baby would save the world?
Of course she did. . .