Cold Hospitality

Hospitality is not about entertaining. It’s about including others in your adventure. - Sheila

Sometimes we think that our home has to be perfectly clean and that we must plan a special meal in order to have guests over. Quite often, the perceived work involved discourages us from opening our home to friends or providing hospitality to someone in need. But, on reflection, I don’t know that God had perfection in mind when He said “show hospitality” (I Peter 4:9).

This has been one of the coldest few days in the last 20 years in Van Horn. Because of this, our house is not really “guest” ready. We have blankets hung up on various entrances to rooms in order to contain the heat and our kitchen is littered with dishes that we can’t wash until we have running water again. Bringing in firewood for the wood stove and taking the puppies out has tracked dirt and ice all over the entry and living room floors. In spite of this, God thought it was good enough for guests anyway.

Yesterday afternoon a friend called me from one of the local hotels. An elderly husband and wife had been stranded here because of the weather. He was a retired pastor and they were on their way to Abilene, TX to minister at a church there. However, because of the weather and icy roads, he and his wife didn’t want to chance going on that night. My friend said that he had called every church in town and no one could help. So, his wife had suggested that they call us.

My friend put Jim on the line and as he told me his story, I felt in my heart that we were supposed to help. I asked them to go to the Cornerstone Coffee Shop and talk to my husband. When they got there, Ralph made sure they had a place to sit, some hot coffee and a blanket (it was cold in the shop, too) while I made arrangements for a room and a meal…at our house.

That evening was an adventure for all of us. April & Duke, who live with us, made a wonderful meal with some help from our girls. I was working, but got home early enough to help with clean up and make sure Jim and Janice had heat in their room (my daughter, Deanna, bunked with her sisters). Deanna, Mikayla and Leilani made a fire in the stove, served our guests hot tea and cookies and tried to keep our dogs out from under foot. Meanwhile, it got colder and colder.

When we got up the next morning, we discovered frozen pipes at the Cornerstone and at home. So we decided to close the shop and focus on making home more bearable. As we cooked breakfast and made coffee, we all agreed that it was warmer in the refrigerator than the kitchen. During the rest of the morning, Jim and Janice cheerfully helped where ever they could, graciously kept their coats on in the house, allowed the puppies and our cat to sit in their laps and encouraged us in the Lord.

Finally, after loading up our living room with firewood and turning on every space heater in the house, we realized that we had to do something to take the chill off so the pipes wouldn’t break. Duke singed off his left eyebrow working with Ralph to light our central heating system and eventually got it going. The house is now at about 55 degrees (instead of 32) and is beginning to feel much better.

I’m watching the weather on-line. Jim and Janice are keeping an eye on the reported road conditions. Ralph is fixing the pipes under the kitchen sink. We have all realized that we might have to maintain for another day or two. We have reassured Jim and Janice that they are welcome to stay. They have been happy to share our hospitality (in spite of the imperfection) and in a very short time have become part of our family. If we hadn’t opened our home, we would never have made such sweet friends or had such a cool adventure.

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. (Rom 12:10-13 KJV)

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. (I Peter 4:9 ESV)