Hospitality on the Road

I really like thinking up ways to be hospitable. Usually what comes to mind is asking someone over to your home and providing some food and drink. After reading Karen Ehman's book A Life That Says Welcome (subtitled "Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others"), I was inspired to think outside-the-box when it comes to loving and serving others.

One chapter was called "Hospitality on the Road" and was a reminder to be loving and encouraging to grocery store clerks, the mail lady, a local widow...doing small acts of love and kindness to whoever the Lord allows to cross our paths. We want to make others feel at home when they are with us and we can bless others without necessarily involving our home.

I love it when Karen shared about her long-time friend Kelly and how close they have remained throughout the years even though they live far apart. Karen says that Kelly...

uses the U.S. mail to deliver her kindness: a delicate hand-sewn treasure; a rich, homespun woolen ware; a handwritten recipe she thinks my family will enjoy; clipped coupons for items she knows that I buy; a bookmark imprinted with Scripture that speaks uncannily to my soul; a single bag of my favorite tea...

I really love to write letters, send cards, and little packages, but the daily demands of life and my lack of planning results in a lack of follow-through. These good intentions aren't realizing their reality...the stamps are in one part of the house, the cards are in another, addresses are buried deep somewhere in the computer...which makes my plan to encourage a friend through a hand-written often too difficult to complete.

So recently I decided to put together a "Hospitality on the Road" bag. I am using this small drawstring bag that I made last month to hold some stamps, a new purse-sized address book (and I actually sat down a few days ago and transferred all of my addresses into it!), and some cute new notecards and thank-you notes (courtesy of the $1 section at Michael's!). This bag fits inside my purse and gives me everything that I need to write a note to a friend and actually mail it too! So when I am sitting at the park or waiting to pick up a child or spending some time at the library or local coffee shop, I can take a few moments to tell a friend that I love them, share a bit of Scripture, or a few words of encouragement.

In order to make our priorities a reality, we must make it simple to carry out. Gather materials together in one spot...a bag or basket so that when you have a few moments you can actually get it done! This can be applied to our crafting, baking, cleaning, schooling...but I digress because this post is supposed to be about being hospitable as a way of life!

So as we think about opening our hearts and homes to others, let's get creative! I love thinking about how I can be a welcoming person wherever I am. Paying for the toll for the person behind you. Taking someone a bouquet of flowers. Sharing a smile with a stranger. Giving another driver the right-of-way. Spreading His love and light and life as we walk...after all, His Home is in our hearts. We are a walking home of Jesus that can hospitably invite others in to His welcoming life and love.