Hospitality

What a special evening. Tonight we had supper with some Crossroads friends, the Skiffs, for the first time. Now you understand that this is a family with five kids and a crazy busy life that made time in their schedule to invite us into their home. That means so much to me, that someone finds my family valuable enough to allocate an evening of their time for us. It is such an honor.

But here's the even cooler part. One of their sons is in my class. He has been excited about me coming over all day long. During a special assembly today, he raised his hand like he had a question and the speaker said, "Yes sir?" and he said, "Mrs. Kemp is coming over to my house for dinner and we're having cheesecake."

We had a great evening. The kids had lots of fun running and playing. Two big families make for a bit of awesome chaos. We got to know each other's families better, and I most definitely ate a huge slab of the best cheesecake I have EVER eaten in my entire life.

Right before we left, my student said the most touching thing, "Mrs. Kemp maybe you could come spend Christmas at my house. We might get you lots of nice presents if you came." I don't even know how to explain how touched I was by this comment. He loves me that much and was so excited to discover that I could come to his house. He's ready for me to spend the holidays.

So I was thinking this over and thinking about how special and honored I felt to be invited into someone's home. I'm pretty sure that our busy lives that keep us from having perfectly clean homes also keep us from practicing Biblical hospitality. It is a critical component of Christianity that we have long ignored. In the last year, I have improved with opening my home. I can't begin to tell you how blessed I have been by the experience of having people regularly hanging out at our house. Something almost magical happens in relationships when you invite people into your home. Maybe it's just harder to wear a mask and play pretend in your own home. It is easier to be real and genuine and that creates beautiful relationships.


So a super evening. Thank you.