Hospitality

February 5-6, 2004

Journal Entry:

“Went to Mary Ellen’s.  Beautiful house.  We talked all evening.  I really enjoyed it.  Up at 7 a.m.  Slept well.  Breakfast with Mary Ellen.  Then went to Wanda’s for a makeover.  She is so sweet and I loved the makeover.  What a difference.  We did some shopping and to Panera for lunch.  Then to the retreat.”

Thoughts for Cheri:

“Pat took me to Mary Ellen’s for Thursday night.  We had a nice relaxing evening with supper, coffee, cookies, ice cream, a fire, and lots of talking.  It was good.  I slept well and then she took me to a friend’s who sells Mary Kay and I got a makeover.  Mary Ellen and Pat bought me makeup.  I have wanted to have that done for a while now.  It was fun.  We did some shopping and then went to the retreat.”

The gift of hospitality.  Mary Ellen definitely has been blessed with it.  I had never met this wonderful woman before this yet she made me feel as if I was the most special person in her life for this moment in time.  Her house was welcoming and warm.  She was truly glad to see me and to treat me with Christian love and acceptance.  It was life changing to be pampered in a way I never had been before. 

The supper, coffee, ice cream, comfortable bed, and more were wonderful but the real gift was Mary Ellen herself.  The time she took to make me feel welcome and her willingness to listen to this wounded and broken soul meant more to me that I can express.  She showed me I mattered and I needed that.

Then there was the makeover.  Mary Ellen, Wanda (another person I had never met before), and I laughed and just enjoyed the fellowship.  More pampering as Wanda treated me to a facial and makeup that suited my complexion.  This was a treat only another woman can understand. 

I made two new friends that day.  Because of circumstances I rarely see them today but I look forward to spending time with them in heaven.  They both were truly angels sent by God to minister to a broken heart.

These two women certainly obeyed Romans 12:13.  They not only opened their homes they opened their hearts and lives to a total stranger.  They took me in and blessed me in ways that still resound in my life today.  I try in my own way to pay it forward by extending mercy, grace, and love to others who come into my life on a daily basis.  We never know the difference a kind word or deed can make to a hurting heart or the difference it can make in someone’s day.  I have discovered that when I share a smile or a hug it makes my day too.  Try it.  You just may like it.

Father,

Thank You for the angels You have placed in my life.

Thank You for the hospitality and love they’ve given to me.

Open my heart and eyes to people in need so that I may be their angel.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.