This past weekend we were scheduled to have some friends over for a time of fellowship after church. Oftentimes when I have people over, I put a lot of pressure on myself to have everything perfect! You know how it goes... You want to make the perfect meal, bake the perfect dessert, don the perfect attitude, and have a perfectly spotless house.
After a busy few days, I was unable to get to the grocery store in time for "The Big Event". We were surrendered to that convenient idea of ordering pizza for lunch! Part of me felt like a failure. Part of me started to wonder if our friends would really enjoy their time as well, because, after all, everything would NOT be perfect!
You can probably guess what happened. Yep, our friends politely excused themselves from the invitation and said, "Perhaps we can come another time".
NO! Of course not!
After I sent my friend an email telling her I had “failed” and we would be ordering pizza, she encouraged me. First and "foremost, she reminded me that I was not a failure. I had spent my time on other purposeful, important things and that was good. Secondly, she reassured me that pizza would be great and that her family would think of it is a gourmet meal because they do not order out much.
When I received my friend's response, I felt a bit of relief. I was reminded, once again, that people are not looking for perfection when they come to our homes, they are looking for love and friendship.
Sometimes we do not invite people to our homes because we have fears of failure, fears of not being perfect.
The excuses are plentiful:
“We don't have enough space.”
“Their children will have nothing to do.”
“What will I do about my "hotspots"?”
“I will be so embarrassed if they see my home in this condition.”
“I won't know what to serve.”
etc... etc... etc...
and we lose out on the blessing of being hospitable towards someone AND lose out on deepening our relationships with others.
People would much rather be invited and bring a dish to pass or toys for their children than to miss out altogether.
Life is about community.
Life is about people.
Life is about serving and encouraging others.
No matter what your circumstances are, certainly you can do "something" to increase hospitality and fellowship in your home.
Something's Better than Nothing!
It is better to open our homes, imperfectly, with love, than to neglect people.
1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
Challenge yourself to do just that!
Plan to invite someone over within the next month!
This was such an encouraging post, Lisa. Fellowship with fellow believers should be real and grace filled. Yes we should try to prepare, but to focus on being perfect is wrong. I think of how I want my home to be to others...do I want it to be like visiting a museum, where everything is fragile and perfectly placed? Or do I want my guests to feel comfortable; to take their shoes off, sit on the floor and be fine with their kids dumping a bin of toys on the floor.
ReplyDeleteAnd how encouraging is it, to walk into a friends house and see a little dust on the piano or the windows a little smudged...looks a lot like my house right now. :-)