Hospitality

Hospitality:taking care of your guests, anticipating their needs. So says the dictionary. It’s easy to see how the word hospital relates or hospice or hostel. But, doesn’t that sound kind of cold and sterile to you? It does to me simply because I can’t see the smiling faces or the warm handshakes or hugs that go with real hospitality.

Being from the South, I’ve seen hospitality in action all my life. That is not to say that Northerners aren’t hospitable because many certainly are. And that is not to say that all Southerners are hospitable because everyone certainly isn’t.  In fact, some of my most hospitable friends are from Minnesota. I guess it has to do with custom or mindset or the way you were raised more than the location.

After my mother passed away, I was in Tulsa visiting one of her cousins. Betty really wasn’t Mom’s cousin but a cousin by marriage and I didn’t know her all that well. My visit lasted longer than I had meant for it to last and lunch time rolled around. Not wanting to impose upon her friendliness, I decided it was time to go.

“Now, Blanche,” she said, “if I was at your mother’s house and left right at lunch time, it would hurt her feelings. You just sit down and eat with me.”

So, I did. That’s what I mean by hospitality.

In the Bible, there is story after story of hospitality being one of the unwritten laws of life. Strangers or friends were treated as honored guests. Read the story of Abraham and the strangers he entertained.

When my mother was a girl, friends visited friends, sometimes spending the night if the distance they traveled was great.Or, friends and relatives would come for a visit and stay a week. Friends were important. Neighborliness was a part of everyday living.

Some of my friends are born hosts and they go out of their way to be hospitable, never complaining about company or additional meals nor readying the guest room for visitors. I believe hospitality is a gift that God gives us. And, it is a gift that blesses the giver as well as the receiver.

Fran, with her monthly luncheons, is a shining example of hospitality. Fran welcomes her guests and works hard to make sure everyone is comfortable.

Today, with rain falling outside and coffee percolating inside, is a perfect time for a cozy critique and the blessing of friends gathered around the hundred-year old table to discuss all things literary and a few things that aren’t.

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