I am sitting in the coolest coffee house with my youngest daughter. And it's raining - God loves me. God sees me. God cares about me. God uses rain to remind me of these truths.
And we are enjoying a cup of coffee in this old house, with a beautiful garden, turned into a coffee shop. What a great way to relish a rainy morning!
I have been blessed to spend time this past month with all three daughters, my sons-in-law and our grandchildren - three, now, with the new baby grandson. He is precious, by the way, and already knows his Nanna's voice. And my honey got to fly in for Father's Day weekend, too. I love these people, big and small! It's so easy to tell them I love them and to show them with encouraging conversation, by changing poopy diapers, fixing meals, doing laundry, bathing preschoolers, cleaning my oldest daughter's house while she is recovering from a C-section, playing with blocks on the floor, drawing with chalk in the carport, kissing bo bos and precious faces, lots of hugs and going to bed exhausted and very content.
As easy as it is to express love to my family, I am becoming aware that I need to do a better job of letting my friends know why I love them. In the book, Bread and Wine, Shauna Niequist writes about the importance of telling our friends what we love about them.
The heart of hospitality is creating space for these moments, protecting that fragile bubble of vulnerability and truth and love. It's all too rare that we tell the people we love exactly why we love them- what they bring to our lives, why our lives are richer because they're in it.
She and her husband have a tradition of toasting their friends on their birthdays over a meal.
Each person comes ready to say something about what that person has brought to their life in the last year or a prayer for the year to come, and after dinner, we toast with those thoughts.
What a great idea! I think my honey and I may have to start this tradition. Shauna writes about an evening where they and a group of friends toasted another friend who is a great encourager to all of them. She had asked his wife about foods that he liked or had special meaning to him to determine the menu for dinner.
The food was good that night. I loved being able to serve foods that were meaningful to Nathan, that represented his story and history, and we had a great meal together. But that night wasn't about the food. The food and the table and laughter helped to create sacred space, a place to give someone the gift of words. That's what the night was about - sacred space and words of love.
Before I went to Louisiana to help my daughter, my honey and I taught a 5 Days to a New Marriage class for our spiritual children. The night before we left, we had the last class which began with a meal. Then we all enjoyed a time of telling each person in these three couples what it is we love about them - what each of their personal strengths are. It was uncomfortable for each person as we all took turns expressing these sacred words. But, each one left feeling loved and appreciated for who they are, with an understanding of the strengths in who God created them to be.
There is something about loving people over a table of delicious food in someone's home. There is a connection made that can't be reproduced in a Sunday school room or a room at the church used by a life group, even if food is involved. We've tried, but it's not the same. It is a privilege to be hospitable in our home to express God's love to people. The food doesn't need to be fancy or expensive. It just needs to be tasty and nurturing, with the guests' tastes in mind.
God reminds me all the time how much He loves me. Now, I get to let my friends know how much and why I love them. I've got some plans to make...
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