What’s truly at the heart of hospitality?

    A fresh-from-scratch poppy seed Bundt cake for our neighbors, a trusted place to drop off your kids for a few hours, a glass of sweet tea to cool you off, or just a place to sit and talk, that was the atmosphere my mom created in my home growing up in the Carolinas. One of the greatest gifts my mom gave my dad, sister and me growing up and continues to radiate in is hospitality.
    My high school friend Jen would often say, “Every time I come in your kitchen, I want to e-e-a-a-t!” The aroma smelled like an apple pie endlessly baking in the oven.
    Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, our table was set like the front cover of a Williams-Sonoma cookbook. Every glass cup, plate and piece of silverware in its perfect place, gracefully decorated.
    Best of all, my mom made people feel accepted, special, and important — even the plumber. To this day, I love reminiscing about the environment she created for us.
    Her youngest daughter, on the other hand (that would be me), has burnt broccoli and other dishes multiple times. I’ve misread ingredients. I once made a chocolate cake that made my friend Mallory nearly choke to death due to baking soda overload. I’ve dished out the weirdest concoctions on the dinner table. I’m not always the neatest in my home. I’m clean but a bit cluttery. I blame it on being creative.
    Showing hospitality makes me shake in my boots, gives me anxiety and causes my control-freak tendencies to protrude.
    So when I read verses like 1 Peter 4:9, I’m both challenged and convicted. Scripture clearly teaches that as Christ-followers we’re to practice being hospitable to one another. Key word: Practice. Yeah right, you may be thinking. My house is a disaster, macaroni is glued to my floor, I haven’t vacuumed in months, and don’t you dare step a foot in my filthy bathroom! I’m right there with you.

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