The Beautiful Life

Practicing Hospitality

My sister and I have been reading this book called “Practicing Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others” and loosely following along with the book study over at Passionate Homemaking. I’ve never been very good at “hospitality.” I think it’s a combination of us never having people over when I was a kid, and me being a recovering perfectionist. But the title of the book intriguied me, and it has a pretty cover, so I bought it.

I’ve just browsed so far, but what has really stuck out to me is the emphasis on changing our attitudes about hospitality. When I do have guests in my home, the focus is so often on getting the food just right, keeping the kids out of the toilet paper, making sure no one trips over toys on the way in, that I forget about why I’m having guests over in the first place. Is my goal to entertain for the evening and for everyone to just have a nice time? Or is my goal to show love? I’m not saying good food isn’t important, but maybe what is more important is meaningful conversation, making a deliberate effort to get past the superficial level that so many of us live in, at least in public. I want people to come to my house and feel loved and cared for, not just entertained.

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