Practicing True Hospitality

We live near the airport and some friends had a morning flight, so it was a great excuse for them to sleep over. We sat in the kitchen, talked until midnight, and shared crackers right out of the bag. Their room had clean sheets—and an avalanche lay in wait behind the closet door. The dirty dishes in the kitchen were overflowing, and I wasn’t even home when they arrived! A couple weeks earlier I heard someone say, “True hospitality is when your guests leave your home feeling better about themselves, not feeling better about you.” Those words hit home. Too often I’m a hot mess before guests arrive. I whirl around the house cleaning, arranging, and planning the meal. I snap at my husband and plunk the kids in front of the TV so they’re not in my way. But not this time.

The condition of my house was less than ideal, but it was real. We were in the middle of a busy week, and they stepped right into the thick of it. The thing is, I didn’t bat an eyelash and neither did they. The mess didn’t matter because in that moment, being together mattered more. If people don’t feel welcome in our homes, they won’t feel welcome in our hearts.

This message is an excerpt from the book A Moment to Breathe Devotional Journal.