"A hamburger given to a bag lady on a bus bench; an elaborate wedding dinner; a gift of firewood late at night from an inn-keeper to someone just checking into a motel; a cool, wet towel given to someone at the scene of a car accident; a midnight snack shared with someone who needs to talk: all of these involve acts of hospitality. They are acts involving a gift of love from one person to another. Each of these echoes the sentiment of the small child who said, "That means she loves us."
The place of hospitality will often be quite literally the welcoming heart of one's home. But more fundamentally, it will always be the welcoming hearth of the heart. For while hospitality requires a physical place, it is even more essentially a place in the heart. Hospitality is the gift of oneself that says, "You are important; you are loved."
-- "The Welcoming Hearth - Your Home Can Be a Safe Place of Warmth and Renewal" by Elizabeth R. Skoglund
3 comments:
What a great attitude to begin cultivating TODAY, especially towards Wayne, Jake and Kylie! Thanks for the thought-food.
Thank you so much Julie, for your warm and generous comment! I am so thankful that the burden the Lord has placed upon my heart has touched yours as well. God will surely give the increase as we continue faithfully in His service!
Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking passage. It is in the smallest things, and certainly of the heart, where true hospitality can be found. Praying your day is blessed! ~ Heather
Beautiful. So often we get caught up in thinking we will show hospitality when we get a bigger home, or new carpet, or paint...or...you get the idea. Hospitality is about the heart, not the surroundings. It's letting someone know, in word and deed, that at that moment, they are the most important.
Thanks for sharing.
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