Two years ago today, May 30, 2008, I stepped off a plane, moved into a new home, and became a Washington state citizen. Big transition! We were kid-free the first week, thanks to Grammy and Paw Paw, so we busily unpacked and settled in as much as we could prior to their arrival. One priority that week was to spend time in prayer dedicating our home to the Lord. We have the understanding that the stuff of this world is not really ours. Everything we have has come through God's hands and is temporarily in our possession to be used for His glory. Our home is no different. In these two years we have hosted many people for a variety of reasons - Bible studies, play dates, dinners, mission teams, neighbors, out-of-town family & friends, parties, community events... And the last several months have been particularly busy. In fact, our girls think something is wrong if there are not extra people here for dinner and no one is sleeping on a spare bed!
Little did we know that after our big move that we would end up being a transitional point for so many others. In fact, we didn't have a "guest room" for several months. It was "Auntie Tara's room" - and will probably always be to some extent. :) She moved here from the Houston area last September and just moved out last weekend. The good thing is she's just 15 minutes away and the girls are already planning sleepovers with her!
Then, just a few days later, our young collegiate friend Alanna, who is a former student of ours from Nashville, moved in to spend the summer with us. Dale and I are really excited to have her here... Hannah & Kaitlyn are SUPER DUPER excited to have her here - she's definitely been feeling the love from them this week! In the meantime, our friend Jonathan, who moved here from Nashville earlier in the year, has been staying with us for a few days while he's in between jobs.
Transitions. They're everywhere. And sometimes they're not a lot of fun. So, I'm just glad God took our prayers at the onset of the biggest transition our family had ever undergone and has allowed our home to be a resting place for so many, whether it was for a simple meal or for an extended stay.
2 comments:
You have a beautiful family and a very pretty blog design. (I love the colors.) I'm a friend of Sara's, so I clicked over from her blog.
I love your attitude about guests. You definitely seem to have the "gift of hospitality," and I definitely do not think it is a gift most people have. (Even though I usually have a house full of teenagers, I struggle with my "attitude" a great deal. Although it isn't a gift I naturally have, I'm praying to "learn" how to be hospitable... inside and out.)
I've never been to Washington, but I'm going to click over now and again to check out your pictures and stories. I love learning about new places from real people.
Thanks Belinda. I'm definitely not perfect in hospitality, but I've learned and grown A LOT over the last few years out of necessity. :) It can become a joy and I pray it will for you!
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