We’ve had more than 30 guests and overnight visitors at our home over the past month, so we’ve been very busy lately! Between guests, Michael and I have been feverishly working on projects around the house, including lots of special just-for-guests cleaning and projects.
After we bought our house, I fell into a trap for a while in which I had to constantly inform visitors of every improvement we planned to make to the house, and also of my recognition of every existing fault of the house. “I know the carpet is a little stained here, but we want a lot of kids so we figured we would keep it for a while.” “The shower isn’t the nicest, but we’re planning a full remodel in five years or so.” “I’d love a bench and some pretty pots for the front porch, but we’re thinking next summer.” I also fell into the trap of getting my feelings hurt if anyone made any unsolicited suggestions about home improvements or decorating choices.
I’ve been freeing myself of those traps lately, though.
When he stayed with us last week, our friend Adam was telling us about his mission work in Mexico over the summer, and how the people there were so generous and showed him incredible hospitality, even though they had little to offer him. The way he spoke about them told me that he had felt incredibly welcome in those people’s humble homes.
I saw a fantastic sign this weekend that God snuck in there to help me pin down those basics:
I’d really love to have a sign with that quote on it for my foyer. 🙂
This is a lovely post. I read another blog post recently about how keeping a clutter-free house is a gift to your family. I'm putting both your ideas together and attempting to declutter so we can focus on the things we cherish in our home.
God is so good to me 🙂 I have totally been struggling with this. We just bought a 60 year old house this summer and though we've painted a few rooms and done the best we can with decoration and furnishing, I still find myself making excuses to others – practically apologizing for our house – because I'm embarrassed by one thing or another. We can't make changes rapidly, either, since Andrew's a theology teacher and I'm a stay at home mom so needless to say, our steady income can achieve basic necessities. Thank you SO much for posting this – humility and hospitality require nothing more that love of God and neighbor, which hopefully will shine so bright that guests won't be able to even see the stained carpet!
Thank you again, friend! – Katie