MIracles at the table
Preston and I bought our first little house one year into our marriage. I have no idea why they loaned us the money because we had nothing but newlywed love to prove we could pay the mortgage. We moved into our little 1950's house, and we began the inviting.
We immediately invited our church over, where they prayed over our home. And then the dinners with friends started. We discipled college-aged students (because we were so wise and experienced since we had graduated a couple of years earlier). Countless young adults in transition lived in our bedrooms upstairs. We became foster parents. And then ministry life began, where I can't even count the women's Bible studies and whole church events that happened in our home.
Our home has always been full. And I have always loved it that way.
My mom told me in that first tiny house, "Things don't have to be perfect to invite people in, Karna. True hospitality has nothing to do with the perfect food, clean house, and entertaining." I thought that sounded good, but my perfectionist ways and love affair with the praise of man fought the truth of that statement in my mind for so many years.
So, yes. I have practiced hospitality. However, my heart has as often been robbed of the true joy in the war for perfection. I have been the woman who frantically fluffed pillows and shoved laundry in the closet minutes before the knock on the door. I have been the woman ordering my kids around to pick up ALL THE THINGS. I have sent my husband to the store in a frenzy to get the forgotten thing. I have tried to have the facade of perfection and not let the world know that I am actually human and a beautiful mess.
But, I have gone to war with these robbers of joy. And I have some secrets to offering hospitality without losing your mind and, more importantly, making space for Jesus to do some lovely work in others' lives and YOUR life.
Close doors to the messes. It's fine. Or don't. It's fine.
Extend the invite a few hours before dinner. Have pizza. No one expects anything gourmet or a tablecloth when invited on the fly.
Use paper plates and plastic silverware. People are often more comfortable.
Only offer water to drink. People don't drink enough of it.
Pick an easy meal that is an easy go-to meal. Tacos, taco soup, spaghetti, or cereal. It's fine.
Consider not doing the dishes when people are still there. (I learned this from a sweet woman who said she loved to wash dishes after everyone left as she thought about all the lovely memories that were made.)
Consider allowing your guests to help clean up and do dishes. The kitchen is holy ground for fellowship.
There is no law that you must practice hospitality. However, Jesus sure seemed to enjoy it when He was here. He performed miracles, taught the truth that brought freedom, and even served his disciples around tables. Jesus met people there. And I suspect, He is still doing that today: meeting people around the table. I just don't want to miss it.
~Karna Atkinson
