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My mother birthed and raised my four brothers and me. She was deeply in love with my Dad (as were us kids) and by today’s standards would be compared to June Cleaver. She was a stay-at-home mom. She waited on my Dad to a fault 😉, maintained a clean home and loved us five kids so very well.
She taught us about Jesus and models what a disciple is. I am beyond blessed to have her for my mother. HOSPITALITY would be among her greatest gifts.
Fifty years ago my parents added a dining room to their home. For a half century my parents (my Dad passed in 2018) have hosted hundreds of guests in that dining room. Over delicious meals, sweet tea, hot coffee and cherry cream pie and many other menus, my mother extended hospitality.
At their dining room table, world problems were solved (so they said), stories told and retold, laughter ensued that to this day can cause a big smile just thinking of those evenings. Heavy hearts were prayed for, and even tears were shed at that table. Engagements were announced; birthdays and holidays were celebrated. It was truly a meeting spot for kindred spirits. A place where Jesus was the unseen but ever-present guest.
Again, I'm aware that opening your home right now, in the aftermath of Christmas, isn’t perhaps at the forefront of your mind. But maybe…just maybe, we could each be more intentional with hospitality in this new year.
It’s not the menu…or your surroundings that will touch a guest’s heart…it’s YOU! Allowing Christ to shine through you and offering a cup of water, coffee or tea in His love can be exactly what that friend needs. And maybe just what you need.
Is there someone you could invite over in January?
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