Do you ever take deep breaths and feel overwhelmingly thankful? I’ve been doing that since Saturday morning. The holiday season was packed with so many good things, travel for Thanksgiving, events and services to celebrate family and Christmas, a trip to West Virginia to ring in the new year, and finally a week teaching a class out of town. It was all so good—a ton of time connecting with people I love and serving in ways that I love—but I was TIRED by the end of it all.
Saturday, I didn’t even get out of my pajamas until around 6:00pm when some friends invited us over for a game night. Sunday activities were snowed out and I took the opportunity to stay in my pajamas once again. Monday was a semi-snow, semi-work-from-home day for our little crew. Around 10:00am I ventured outside for the first time since Saturday night to take Britt-dog on a walk with my husband.
Home.
I’m really thankful to be here.
…
As I’ve been home the past days, I’ve slowly been putting away Christmas decorations and organizing and cleaning. I’m not going full KonMari, by any means, but I am working to make space for more rest and more things that I love.
I’m hoping to offer some of that physical space to others as we begin hosting folks this year.
Hospitality is a big thing for me. I’ve been offered a ton of it as I’ve travelled, both near and far. I was offered a lot of hospitality just last week.
Something a dear seminary professor and friend told me years ago, is that in order to offer hospitality we must have a home. He was speaking in the context of the church, but I’ve found it to be meaningful across other areas of my life as well.
For me, home is the place that I return to in order to recharge and it is also the place where I invite others to rest and recharge.
Over the next few weeks I am going to explore hospitality and the ways I’ve experienced it around the world and close to home. I am also going to explore some scripture passages and begin to unpack what it means to offer ourselves and our spaces to the world around us.
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Today, I am basking in gratitude for a place to call home and for countless people who have invited me into their lives. What are you thankful for?
I’m looking forward to this series! I’ve been working on creating home since I married in October, and a big goal is to make the space and tone of our home one that my husband and I feel comfortable hosting others in, for game nights and dinners as well as for weekends. So glad you’ve had some time to rest!
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Thanks, Katie! I love that you are working to create space for others to feel welcome and comfortable in your home!
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