Hospitality - An Unexpected Blessing
I am so thrilled to share the first ever guest author featured on Home in the Hollow. What makes it even more special, is that this author also happens to be my mother-in-law. I am blessed to enjoy a lovely relationship with my mother-in-law. She is one of the most understanding and easygoing people I know.
Julie is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She enjoys reading, writing, baking, gardening, and taking walks in nature. She loves a good teatime and will never turn down a slice of cake. She lives in a springhouse on our family farm, which she and her husband have renovated into a cozy little cottage. She strives to live a life that honors God and serves others.
I hope you enjoy the article she has written for you today!
For several years now, my husband and I have enjoyed a tradition of having dinner company once a month. I really can’t remember when we started doing this – probably when our now-grown sons were teenagers. And though I can’t remember WHEN we started this tradition, I do remember WHY we keep doing it. It’s actually rather addicting! Having a different group of people over once a month has been such a rich experience.
Besides the obvious joy of simply getting to know people better, one of my favorite things about this type of hospitality is how much it seems to bless and encourage our guests. Because many people don’t eat together as a family in our culture, it can seem rare or strange to be invited to someone else’s home to share a meal. It’s been interesting to encounter all kinds of reactions to our invitations over the years. I usually begin by explaining that my husband and I enjoy having dinner company once a month and that we would like them to be our guests. Some people are immediately delighted, others surprised, some confused, others are hesitant, and some seem to question the motive behind the invitation! But I can tell you that we’ve never had anyone who has accepted an invitation, not express great enjoyment both during and after the get-together. I remember one man who seemed hesitant to come, stood up at the end of the evening and said in a surprised tone, “Well, this has been JUST delightful!”
From widows to widowers, to co-workers and co-volunteers, from old friends and missionaries, to extended family members, neighbors, and, occasionally, strangers, we have been so blessed by the lives and stories of others. Though we intentionally make dates for monthly dinners, my favorite experience was when we spontaneously invited a man and his 15-year-old son to our home after church one afternoon. This was only the second time they had attended our church, so we really knew very little about them. We sat around the table eating and talking, including our own three teenage sons. I had asked the visiting teenager several questions about his opinion on things. Conversation continued until at one point this young man looked around at all of us and said with amazement and wistfulness, “I didn’t know people do this.” I never saw that young man after that day, but my hope is that the experience made a lasting impression on him.
As to the practical side of our once-a-month hospitality: We keep it simple. I have a few basic meals that I am very familiar with and comfortable making for this purpose. And it seems that simple meals and “everyday” place settings help to put guests at ease. Sometimes we give a quick tour of our little home, but otherwise, we just put a tasty meal on the table and talk. We’ve learned over the years that people feel valued, honored, and loved simply by us taking the time to share a meal with them and making a point of getting to know them. And after all these years, I still haven’t figured out who comes away more encouraged through this simple practice of hospitality – our guests or us.
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