Practice Hospitality

"Entertaining seeks to impress. 

Hospitality seeks to bless."

-Jen Wilkin

Proverbs 31 Ministries

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I read this quote yesterday, and was literally stopped in my tracks. 

Sometimes conviction just hits like that. 

I've struggled with OCD tendencies for as long as I can remember. Needing my days planned out, needing my home tidy and clean, stressing over details, and fighting back anxieties, worries, and obsessive thoughts. Mix this with a love for all things creative, decorating included, and somehow my home became a treasure. I love making it warm and inviting. I love decorating for each holiday, and filling our walls with portraits of my loved ones. I like do-dads, and doilies, too many candles, and potpourri.  I like all of these things to be in their place, and never touched, just left alone to look pretty. You can only imagine the stress this has placed on my husband and children.

But I also love opening our home to family and friends, welcoming them in for hours to eat, sit & talk, play games, and grow in our relationships. I strongly believe in the need to be vulnerable and welcoming, but sometimes my anxieties get in the way. I live in constant conflict: part of me wanting to be present and vulnerable, and the other part wanting desperately to get up and just clean the kitchen quick, or fix that picture that is askew. 

And though this OCD I struggle with is an actual medical condition, I realize there is also this place in my heart that enjoys things looking nice and impressing others. There's still that sin nature in me that wants to seek approval from man, and prove my worth to others. As I read this quote, I came face to face with that ugly place in my heart, realizing that my motivations need to change. 

My focus needs to be on blessing others, above all else. And though it may not be natural for me to sit back and let life unfold, I need to learn how to do it. I desperately desire for others to feel comfortable around me, welcome in my home, and at ease. I never want to give off the impression that they are disrupting my flow, messy-ing my home, or that the dirty dinner dishes are more important to me than listening to what's on their heart. I truly want to be able to bless others with a good meal, friendly conversation, and spiritual depth.  And because I long for these things, I know with God's help, I can change. 

Scripture tells us that hospitality takes practice:

"Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  

Always be eager to practice hospitality." 

- Romans 12:12-13

Isn't that interesting? It seems God knows what maybe we all need a little grace in this area, maybe we all need a little practice. Being generous and open with our hearts takes time, it takes trust even, but as Christians, we need to learn how to offer hospitality everywhere we go, to everyone we meet. 

This is something God calls us all to do, so we know it's important to God's heart as well. Practicing hospitality allows for walls to drop, for hearts to open, and for true fellowship to happen. Practicing hospitality allows us to deepen our relationships, bless others, encourage others, and strengthen brotherly love. Practicing hospitality builds up the church body, and makes us stronger as a whole, making it easier for us to depend on one another. 

Blessing others first needs to be our focus, and when it is, I believe that hospitality will begin to flow out of us, from a place of sincere love for each other and desire to draw closer to The LORD. 

Now, who wants to come to dinner?