Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
I laughed when I read this. I love having people over for dinner, but the anxiety (and the process) of getting the house cleaned and presentable for company exhausts me. Which leads to grumbling. I know it's my sinful nature, but that is no excuse. I shouldn't grumble. I'm extremely thankful for a husband and kids who do so much to help out (and for a forgiving Heavenly Father) allowing for times of very enjoyable fellowship.
Oh, Melanie, you have no idea how many times I've had to remind myself of that verse! Hospitality is not one of my strengths, but God has grown me so much over the years, especially by having Mr. H. over so many times. He's like family now, so anymore I tend to not get so worked up about how clean the house is, etc. But this past month was so busy that the house was really neglected. I knew Mr. H. wouldn't mind, but we also wanted to invite the young Dutch man over, and we debated whether we should with the condition the house was in. We opted to invite him anyway, and it was such a wonderful time! I'm sure he did notice how bad the house was, because he set his wallet on a dusty surface and it left a mark in the dust! But the food, conversation, and fellowship hopefully outweighed my dusty furniture and dog hair floating around. I just have to remind myself what's really important and that when I swallow my pride and open my home to serve God's family I am serving Him.
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