Hospitality

I spent Easter with my family . . . my Big Fat Italian Family (just kidding). Ris and I drove up in my car and got to spend some quality time together. I drove, she dozed. Still, it was just nice to be together. When we arrived in New Jersey, we found that Mommom's dining room table was set for a million people. Typical. If there is one part of being Italian that I love most, it's hospitality. There is a revolving door at my grandparents home, their dinner table can hold limitless numbers of chairs, and the food supply is never ending (just in case someone drops in unannounced . . . which they always do!). Mommom is the most hospitable woman that I've ever seen and that has been passed down to her daughters and granddaughters. The Bible talks about hospitality:


Rom 12:13
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
1Tmothyi 3:2
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Titus 1:8
But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
1Peter 4:9
Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

Being hospitable is obviously a good thing and a fruit of being a Christian. I am so blessed to have Christian and Reformed grandparents. I think that one of the most important lessons that I have learned from them, though, IS hospitality. There are just always people at their house, always people just showing up, and always there is coffee in the pot (you might not want to actually drink it though--no telling how long it's been around!). Thankfully, the hospitality bug was passed down to my mother. People come over often and we all love having company (cleaning the house beforehand is another matter!). Oftentimes, people sit around our dinner table on a Sunday afternoon, on our sofas on a Friday or Saturday night, or out on the porch swing or in the pool in the summer. It is such a blessing to fellowship and spend time getting to know people in a context outside of church or work. When you're at our home, you're family. One thing that I miss, though, is people just dropping by. The people in MD just don't do that. I wish they did. So, if ya need something to do . . . just stop by for a cup of coffee--and you KNOW it's always fresh at the Wilcox home!