"Love one another as members of one family" - Romans 12:10 (AMP)
Recently God has put hospitality on my heart, and I am trying to become better at it.
Even though we've been married for two years, I haven't really been in a position to be a hostess. The first year and half of marriage, we lived with Jose's parents, so she did the cooking, and offering people things. The other reason, that I have been hesitant, is because hospitality is very different here in Honduras.
To start, visits are spontaneous, unplanned and you never know when someone will show up, for how long, or if they had in mind to spend the night at your house. Visits are just very different here.
But I also had a fear that I might do something wrong, or get judged, since I know how gossipy and judgmental people can be here. I was afraid my house was "too fancy" or my food might be "to different", or even worse, have the most awkward time since I am shy and not good at conversing with people I barely know.
One day a neighbor girl came over and was talking to me and Lesbia, the girl living with us, through the window. After a few minutes, Lesbia invited her in. It was in that moment, that I realized my mindset had to change and quick, because it was my job, as the wife, to invite her in and it hadn't even crossed my mind!
I have been reminded that God has blessed us to bless others, and they will see that as well, as I invite them in and give them something to eat! We are so blessed to have an oven now, and I can bake things whenever I want and give them to visitors! Not only do I get to play the expected role of hostess, but go above and beyond by giving them something unexpected and baked (a real treat here) because God has blessed us!
Sometimes I get frustrated with this style of unplanned visits because the house sometimes is a little messy, but the kids don't care. I watched a sermon online recently that talked about Jesus' return. Just like we don't have time to pick up the house when someone pops in, we won't have time to clean up our lives when he returns. So live with the end in mind and invite others into your lives and homes, even if it's messy, because that's what matter. It's all about relationships, not appearance!
Please pray for kids (and adults) to show up at our house! Because once they come once, even if it's for a different reason, they feel welcome and are likely to come again!
But I also had a fear that I might do something wrong, or get judged, since I know how gossipy and judgmental people can be here. I was afraid my house was "too fancy" or my food might be "to different", or even worse, have the most awkward time since I am shy and not good at conversing with people I barely know.
One day a neighbor girl came over and was talking to me and Lesbia, the girl living with us, through the window. After a few minutes, Lesbia invited her in. It was in that moment, that I realized my mindset had to change and quick, because it was my job, as the wife, to invite her in and it hadn't even crossed my mind!
I have been reminded that God has blessed us to bless others, and they will see that as well, as I invite them in and give them something to eat! We are so blessed to have an oven now, and I can bake things whenever I want and give them to visitors! Not only do I get to play the expected role of hostess, but go above and beyond by giving them something unexpected and baked (a real treat here) because God has blessed us!
Sometimes I get frustrated with this style of unplanned visits because the house sometimes is a little messy, but the kids don't care. I watched a sermon online recently that talked about Jesus' return. Just like we don't have time to pick up the house when someone pops in, we won't have time to clean up our lives when he returns. So live with the end in mind and invite others into your lives and homes, even if it's messy, because that's what matter. It's all about relationships, not appearance!
Please pray for kids (and adults) to show up at our house! Because once they come once, even if it's for a different reason, they feel welcome and are likely to come again!
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