Growing up, no one would have ever pegged me as someone who would stay home long enough to entertain others. I wasn’t the type to enjoy prepping guestroom snack baskets, fluffing pillows and keeping anything anywhere CLOSE to clean and hospitable.
Throughout my teen days, while my mother was lamenting over my unmade bed and my general disdain for order…I had either my nose in a book with a mouth full of junk food (likely dribbling crumbs all over the house) or I was outside; careening wildly on rollerblades or on a hike with my friends through the woods nearby.
Homemaking, to me, felt like a waste of my precious time. There were so many other places to go that felt much more exciting to me than the mundane-ness of my house. In my youth, I felt tied down by the weight of chores and homework (see – the word “home” is even in that dreadful word) and from the nagging of my parents to do something like finally pick my wet towel up off the floor for the millionth time! As an extrovert, wasn’t the whole purpose of life to leave the monotony of home and get out there and be with others and seize the day?!
Fast forward to my first year of marriage, when Treavor and I were living overseas as English teachers in South Korea. We had to suddenly leave the job we had flown over there for, and we were looking at finding a new apartment with only two months’ savings and no job on the horizon. Far from home and our regular support systems, it was then that we learned what it was to be brought into someone’s home as a place of refuge and security.
Our pastors had an empty room in their flat and they graciously welcomed us in. We had no home, but they made room for us in theirs. We were young and living by faith; believing God to provide our next job and dwelling. For that interim season, our hosts became a safe space for us to figure out life and re-launch to be on our own again.
I can tell you now that I remember very little about their ability to cook, their housekeeping skills or the way they decorated their home. But what I CAN tell you about is the way they loved us and gave generously of their time and space so we could get our footing again.
Have you ever been on the receiving end of this kind of generosity in hosting? Feel free comment and even tag your friends or family in the comments to share about their kindness.
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