A Little Southern Hospitality
There were so many different topics I wanted to begin my blogging journey with. In the future I will be sharing all about my love for hospitality and entertaining. Today I am going to focus on hospitality because of its significance in where we are as a country.
When I hear the phrase “southern hospitality” I can picture a group of ladies sitting on a porch sipping sweet tea as a lady in a wide brimmed hat serves up finger sandwiches.
It may look different these days but the beautiful thing about hospitality is when it comes from the heart it can look like many different things. It can be having friends from church over for lunch after service or bringing dinner to a couple that just had a baby.
It’s bringing groceries to the elderly couple who are afraid to leave their home during this pandemic.
It’s writing a note to your neighbors to let them know that no matter what our nation is going through, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hospitality is woven through scripture many times. Anything worth mentioning more than once must be important, right? Romans 12:13 reads “ when God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
“ when God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:13
With all the unsettling events that have crossed our paths in 2020, we need now more than ever a generous helping of kindness.
Building community through hospitality is one of the most rewarding responsibilities we have as humans. I was fortunate to grow up watching my mother show generosity and nurture our community. I can remember her and the other ladies of our church whipping up their best casseroles on short notice in order to feed a grieving family. It was through her I learned how to show others genuine hospitality and recognize what they needed.
I had my own dose of hospitality just a few short months ago.
February eleventh my healthy, 38 year old, asymptotic firefighter husband had a massive heart attack while training a recruit class… the type of heart attack that is known as the “widow maker.”
It is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous types of heart attacks and retains the name for a reason. He spent one week in ICU on a vent under sedation and a second week in a cardiac step down unit. While we were in the hospital our family was uplifted and cared for in every way imaginable. I had college sorority sisters clean my home, our small group at church started a meal train and fed our family for two weeks. Every meal and cup of coffee while in the hospital was taken care of. I had clean clothes brought to me throughout the week and those who never left my side. Our community embodied old and new friends, our firefighter family, relatives and co-workers. Or so I thought…. I started receiving messages from people across the United States telling me they were praying for family and for my husband to heal. We had people donate to our GoFundMe that we had never met. God blessed our family in unimaginable ways and brought me to tears many times.
During those two weeks hospitality was shown without reservation and it showed me what an amazing and beautiful community we were a part of.
My prayer for you and I as we continue our journey together, is we find a way to show hospitality to one another.
How can we fill another’s cup and make each other feel truly valued and respected? Let me know your ideas and how they go. Let’s spread some love and good ole “southern hospitality.”
Cheers,
Jessica
Ideas for you to show hospitality today:
Write a note to a friend telling them how much you value your relationship and why.
Bake something for your neighbor.
Organize a potluck for other couples or friends. Creating community and bringing people together in this way always ushers blessings in the future to those involved.
Open your home to your children’s friends. Have a bon fire for them or a movie night on the lawn.
Mow an elderly neighbors grass.
Offer to keep your friends children and give them a date night.
Invite a friend to go for walks in the evenings.
Drop off a meal to your local fire department.
Donate diapers to a shelter.
Keep $5 coffee gift cards in your wallet to bless an officer with when you see them.