I found this post very honest and encouraging. Cathy and Steve have put real effort and thinking into how to use their home and family life in ministry.
A lot of people (like me) say they want to use their home for ministry, but it doesn't fit in conveniently very often, and a lot of people (me) just don't, or think they can't, so it is good to see what it looks like when a family actually work out how to share their lives sacrificially, and give it a red hot go, regardless of not always being in "Christian hospitality mode".
Hospitality is a ministry which I often think is limited by my situation, ie many people from church don't live nearby me, or I'm not a very good cook, or I only have 3 plates cos I broke one, or I have no dining table, or I have to arrange it with my flatmate(s), so it's just too much effort to have people over for dinner. But if you think outside the square, hospitality is basically life-sharing for the benefit of others, not just dinner parties. So there are a lot of little opportunities for life-sharing ministry. If I was to make a list of them in my life, like Cathy did, it would include Eat Street, obviously; and also meeting up with friends to walk or go swimming, or teach someone how to bake a cake or sew a skirt. Even grocery shopping has been valuable time spent with some women. So I'm challenged now, to make the most of these opportunities, even though I don't have a dining table.
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Good thought, Jess!
ReplyDeleteHospitality is also different to entertaining. I think hospitality is entertaining with more inconvenience. So inconveniences aren't an excuse - that's what I've learnt. :)
ReplyDeleteI can be practising it more as well.