Jessica and I have been married for over six years now, and it’s been great. Jessica is much more introverted than I am. When people come over I get charged and want them to stay until 10:30 or 11:00. Jessica, however, is tired when people leave because often she is just exerting so much more emotional energy. However, she loves to entertain. She’s a great cook and she loves to make special foods, little treats and throw together a little social event.
I had suggested that we buy a house that meets various needs we have and Jessica threw something my way that just caught me off guard: she wants good room for hosting people, having guests spend the night, feeding more than two other adults and room for kids to actually (gasp) play. Basically she wants to be hospitable and that’s something that I think is terrific. I was just listening to an MP3 from Mars Hill church in Seattle and the teacher is talking about hospitality. I have harped on others needing to be hospitable (scripture says elders need to be hospitable – if your pastors and elders are not so, take a close look at I Timothy 3) and have left church because the people were not. Surely this is something that should be ingrained in me. And in fact it is. My parents were very hospitable folks growing up and I don’t remember them letting a week go by that they didn’t have someone over for a meal, often times multiple families at multiple meals.
So… in summary I love my wife and I’m glad she’s thinking that way. Also, the pastor in that lesson talked about how our architecture today for homes and buildings is not conducive to hospitality. Looks like we’ll be buying an older home.
Hmmm…I would be interested to know why he believes that the architecture today is not conducive to hospitality versus older homes. As a recent home purchaser, I would say the opposite is true. More modern homes tend to have larger, more open living spaces (family room, game room, kitchen, etc) and they tend to be open to each other so that the ladies (or gents) fixing the food are able to interact with the folks chatting in tht family room. Older homes tend to place more emphasis on the sleeping spaces by having larger bedrooms and, in general, the living spaces are no where near as connected and open. But then again, maybe that varies by region as my experience is limited to the Metroplex.
Yes! I am with Jessica on this! I think that hospitality can be a huge ministry. Inviting some one in to your home can be so intimate. I can’t wait to be in a house where I can do that more.