It's funny how God likes to use our weaknesses in spite of our fears and insecurities. A year ago, I was terrified of having people in my home on a regular basis. When we decided to start our house hunt last year, both Mr. Wonderful and I felt that we were supposed to buy a home that would accommodate church groups. But I'm not sure either of us envisioned what that would mean for us. Mainly, because in the 7 years we had lived in our previous house, we could probably count on 2 hands how many times non-family members had visited our home. This sounds weird, but we've only had dinner at non-family member's houses 3 or 4 times in the last 10 years. People in our part of Texas don't open up their homes very often!
So, naturally, I have this hospitality fear. Part of my fear is because I have zero confidence in my ability to cook. I know that I can cook, because my husband and children prefer my food to some restaurant food. Yet, I don't cook fancy foods. And I have a limited repertoire of foods that I cook well. So, my solution has always been to NOT cook for other people and to get carry-out restaurant food when I bring meals to other families.
In spite of my fears and in spite of our reclusive lifestyle, God has brought about a significant change in our lives over the past 12 months. It all started last fall when some families talked about wanting to start a small group. Since we had just moved into our house, which we knew would be a good meeting space for a small group, we offered up our place. Over the course of the year, our group has grown and grown. We've had some weeks where we've had 19-30 people in our home!
This past spring, people started requesting that we serve dinner every Sunday. Somehow, coordinating and cooking dinner for the group each week has become my task! (As if I don't have anything better to do after spending 2-3 hours cleaning my house every Sunday afternoon!) I tried to convince the folks to switch from dinner to snacks at the end of the summer, but it turns out that people like my food and want me to feed them. I don't say this to brag. I say this in complete amusement. I've been cooking hot dogs, quesadillas, sloppy joe, chili, and other comfort favorites, yet the people continue to eat! And our group continues to grow.
What's even more interesting about the fact that we've become weekly group hosts, is that we regularly have seminary students from Southwestern Baptist Seminary attend our community group. This is weird, because we bought our house from a student at the seminary who was moving to accept a pastoral position at a church a few hours away. It's like God built this house for ministry and to serve seminary students! Having this thought in the back of my mind definitely motivates me as I plan my menu on Sundays.
After hosting families in our home on a weekly basis for the past year, I can honestly say that my hospitality fears have dwindled. A year ago, I prayed for a house where we could be "useful" for God's work and God has opened up an entirely new door of ministry for us! I'm now keeping my house clean on a weekly basis, cooking, coordinating meals for families, helping plan play dates and helping start a neighborhood craft night as an outreach tool. Only God could take this undomestic princess and make that happen.
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