Hospitality

​I've been reading a study on hospitality and have a very sad confession. I am not hospitable. I'm more like a hermit. This is an area in my life that needs a lot of work. I enjoy having people over for an hour or two, but then I'm ready for them to leave so I can put on my pajamas and chill out. In fact, I wouldn't mind never leaving my house. Yep, like a hermit. I use my shyness as an excuse when in reality, God has all the power in the world to help me overcome this. Too often I choose to stay in my little bubble. Hospitality is mentioned often in the Bible. I just read a devotional about a family that had missionaries stay with them for a month and all I could think was " I could never do that" and immediately felt conviction. Especially when God brought to my mind those who did it for me. When Mike and I felt led to look for a church for him to pastor, my parents opened their home to us and we moved in with our 4 children for almost a year. From there we moved to Caseville with the pastor and his wife and lived in the upstairs of the parsonage for 6 months. In my small, selfish mind I always looked at these times as "my poor family~no home, our things packed away in garages for a year and a half, our family crammed in tiny rooms..." it was always me, me, me. I never opened my eyes to the hospitality of these precious people. Both had kids that were long gone. Happy to have their own schedules and the quietness of home to themselves. And then total chaos moved in. Two young people who were excited about the ministry and future ahead, constantly babbling about ideas, along with 4 children all under the age of 6. Noise and fingerprints and fights and sickness, not to mention toys everywhere. The fact of the matter is, if we have accepted Christ's wonderful gift of salvation~ our amazing Father has opened His magnificent home to us, for eternity. This house I live in is not really my home, it's just a rental for my time here on earth. God gives us opportunities to share with others the comfort, peace and love we feel when we think of home. What a beautiful picture of what our heavenly Father has done for us. True comfort, true peace, true love can only be found in His presence. The mortgage has been paid in full on the cross and a home in heaven can be ours forever. What a lesson to be learned. Today is a good day for me to start my real estate training and open my eyes to those who need that comfort, peace and love that a home can bring. Mine can be just the beginning.