We hosted a party for about ninety or a hundred people here at our home last night. Our church bid goodbye to a very special family now headed for Hawaii after three years here in the sunny southwest.
I've recently heard several people mention the fact that it is becoming much rarer for contemporary Americans to entertain in their own homes. With our busy lifestyles and today's economic pressures, people often feel that they don't have time, or they can't afford to entertain, or that their homes aren't nice or clean enough.
We belong to a small group of five couples; we eat dinner together every Sunday night before discussing a book of our choice. Our homes are not always perfect; the food is not always perfect (I have a few stories to tell about my own misadventures in cooking!). But the act of breaking bread together every week has brought us closer, so that we have become like extended family.
I really enjoyed hosting last night's farewell party because a number of families attended the party who had never been in our home before. There's something sacramental about hospitality; people who enter our home get to know us instantly in a way not possible on neutral ground. Accepting or refusing someone's hospitality can be an offer of peace or a statement of continuing aggression. Making the effort to open a home provides an opportunity to build relationships that no other communal activity can replace.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I love having what I call "throw togethers" for old friends and new ones. They get to know us on a more personal basis without any worries! Enjoying your blog. Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by! I liked your blog too - very cool recipes. I'll have to send my cooking friends over.
There's a lot of truth to what you say here, Rosslyn. Hospitality is becoming more and more rare.
I struggle often with excuses not to have people over, mainly of the "the house isn't clean enough" variety that you mentioned. A book I read years ago - written for ministry spouses - talked in depth about the sacramental aspect of hospitality that you mention. I've had a long road of letting go of pride ("I can't let people see the house like this!") for the greater good of hospitality. I still fail at this often, but thank God that He keeps working on all of us, pride and all!
...Hmmm, where is that book? I think I need to re-read it.
Rosslyn, I am the woman whose house is never clean enough and who never cooks well enough. A good Christian friend--one of the best hostesses I know--says the same thing to all her guests: "Welcome to our home, it's always a bit messy and you're always welcome."
Guess what: she's so engaging and warm no one sees the mess. No one cares.
A lesson I really needed to read today, Rosslyn. Thanks for your great thoughts!
Thanks, Gwen! When my house is messy, the food doesn't come out right, and my guests have to eat hot dogs, I tell myself that it's part of my plan to make others feel more comfortable about imperfection in their own hospitality. :-) Sounds good, doesn't it!
EXACTLY, Rosslyn! =) I think I'm providing a great service to others by letting them feel secretly smug about their cleaner house.
Gwen, I'd love to make that saying into a sign for my house. It really is all about how we personally make people feel in our homes.
Isn't it funny how most people subconsciously attribute a home's cleanliness or messiness to the woman's doing, regardless of who does the chores around the house? My husband says the opposite is true for the yardwork.
Post a Comment