hospitality noun \hos-pi-tal-i-tee\ a: the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. b: the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.
We've been living in our lil home for about 6 months now and have had 8 guests staying at different times totaling about 2 months. We are expecting 5 more guests (coming at different times of course) to stay with us within the next month. I may not be the best lil host (I'm trying), but I love that we finally have a home to accommodate people visiting and staying with us.
If there's one thing I learned from my momma, its that our homes, things, etc. are a gift from God and they are meant to be shared... because, really- after all, they do not belong to us. And one thing she was really good at was sharing our (very tiny) home with others.
When I was in about the 3rd or 4th grade, my mom had finally worked hard enough to get her dream home... a tiny (ok, maybe the tiny part wasn't her dream) cabin in the beautiful mountains of east Tennessee. She was sooo proud of that lil cabin. I'm guessing it was a tad bit bigger than the home me and Ryan are living in now (1000 square ft). It was an A-frame bat-and-board cabin with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom (doubling as the laundry room), an open kitchen and living room with a small open loft space above. It was small... but it was beautiful - in a rustic, hillbilly kind of way. :)
Over the course of my years living there - we had many people stay with us or living with us. Our door was always open to anyone who needed a place to stay. I don't know if mom ever said no. I remember there being a time when we'd have 4 adults and 4 kids staying at one time. (In case you need me to do that math for ya: that's 8 folks, people!) All in a 2 bedroom - 1 BATHROOM home!
Mom didn't do it because it was easy - she did it because she had a big heart and couldn't bare the thought of turning away her family or friends in need. And perhaps she was remembering when she needed a place to stay with her 2 little girls and was turned away by her family and needed to stay with friends.
It was really quite natural for her to accept people into our home. But for me... it was hard. I was a bit selfish (ok, maybe a lot), and did not always like having to share such a small space with so many people. But on the other hand, I have so many great memories of my uncle and cousins living with us. I think it was good for me to grow up with such a great example of giving up your comfort for the sake of others and realizing that our stuff really isn't ours.
Ryan knew when we got married how important it was to me that we never had an "empty" house. He knew that my desire to have a big home was only so we could have many people live with us. And over the years, his heart has grown to want the same thing. And as we've "moved up" from apartment-dwelling to house-living we're testing ourselves in this idea of an open door policy. This summer we've had 3 kids instead of just 1 (Braddock) with my nieces staying for over a month. And I have to admit that it isn't easy. Having a continual stream of guests is not always easy for an OCD, planning, neat freak (Ryan) and a selfish, clean freak (me) - but having a kid doesn't make it easy either.
We are learning a lot about what is really important... and a lot about our sinful nature and how we desperately need God's constant sanctification, grace, and love to mature us. And its times like this (when I'm running low on the hospitality meter) that I think of my mother and how great she was at being hospitable. I don't think I ever heard her complain about having too many people in our home, having to share all our things, food, and our bathroom, having a messy or dirty home, or cooking for everyone (when she had time). I think she actually really and truly enjoyed being hospitable.
My mom is an inspiration to me and I'm thankful for her example of hospitality and sacrificial living. My hope and prayer is for God to continue to stretch, grow, and mature me in my hospitality and that, like my mother, I am willing to share my home and things freely with those who God places in our path.
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