My Struggle With Hospitality
I love a good dinner or house party. Give me a week or two to plan and I’ll be the hostess with the mostess.
Decorations, pretty plates and napkins, and a spread of food that could feed an army.
But throw me into a spur of the moment gathering and I’m in a frenzy.
My mind starts spinning with all the things I don’t have – themed plates and napkins – you know, the cute things, but the parts of hospitality that really don’t matter. Yes, those things are fun and charming and add to the joy of having friends and family over, but those are not the things that people remember when they leave your home.
A Real Life Example
Andrew and I decided this year for Christmas Eve, after church, we would just come home for a quiet evening – just our family. We would do something easy, like a charcuterie board for supper and play a game in the living room, by the glow of the Christmas tree.
As we met Andrew’s family for dinner on Christmas Adam {you know, the day before Christmas Eve}, I mentioned our easy plans to his mom and she responded, “want us to come over?”
This is one of those moments of awkward silence for me, searching for the right response. Uh….er….um…..
In my mind I struggled with what I really wanted, a quiet night at home with just my little family. But then there was the tug of the Spirit telling me to get out of my selfishness, open my home and say ‘yes’.
So I did. “Sure, that would be great.” I answered.
Where the Struggle Comes to Play
I had already stated we were going to do something simple like a charceuterie board and in that moment I hear the requests of, “let me know what you want us to bring” and “do you already know what you’re going to have on the board”. And the anxiety set in. Maybe charcuterie wasn’t the best option now; maybe I needed to do something more, “maybe I should make a lasagna?” I asked Andrew.
I wanted something simple. And just because five more people are coming doesn’t mean it still cannot be simple.
Andrew assured me that charcuterie would be sufficient.
This morning as I was rolling over in my mind what I needed, I found myself running my fingers through my hair in apprehension of not having plates and napkins, and the table is already set for Christmas dinner, and now I need to go to the store AGAIN, and …
The list really could go on if I would let it. But I had to make it stop.
I reached for todays’ prayer prompt card and wouldn’t you know it was on Hospitality.
Pray that you would keep an open heart and open home in order to welcome others and show them the gospel.
I Was Convicted
What did it matter if I didn’t have Christmas plates planned to use tonight – why cannot I just use my Christmas china, even if I was planning to use it tomorrow? I have a dishwasher.
If I’m completely honest with myself, the things that keep me from opening my home at a moment’s notice are my perfectionist tendencies. I don’t have to have the perfect serving pieces, my home doesn’t have to be perfectly in order {it rarely is…}, and the food doesn’t have to be enough for an army.
Often it’s so hard for me to let go and let things just happen. I’m very much a ‘type A’ personality so relenquishing what I think is control, is very hard. And spur of the moment scenarios are very much relenquishing control on my surroundings.
Embracing Hospitality
Though in my mind, this may not be the easiest step for me to take, I’m going to take it. If I’m a child of the Gospel, this is how I can display it in real life. And though it may not seem like a big deal to others, it is to me. Taking a step in the direction that He’ll have me to go is a step in obedience and trust and isn’t that what Christmas really is about? Stepping toward the Savior who came in a manger. Yes, I think it is.