All Are Welcome

 

Last weekend we hosted a birthday party celebrating another year of Mr. Awesome’s life.  We closed off the bedrooms, and opened up every other door in our 1500 sq. ft home.  We swept the garage, moved a few things, and welcomed in over 90 of our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family.  There were even a few people we hadn’t yet met, but were delighted to serve anyway.  Yes, truly delighted.

You see we prayed for this party for weeks.  We prayed hard for clear skies, so we could use our spacious backyard.  That wasn’t in God’s plan.  Early in the afternoon there were massive sheets of rain rolling in, and we learned we’d be hosting this party indoors.  We were away at a volleyball tournament that morning and couldn’t prepare our home fully, but we trusted it would be okay.  Above all we prayed for our home to be a safe gathering place for everyone to come and make connections. 

This party wasn’t about us.  This party was about God.  It was about connecting His people.

It’s so cool to sit back and watch people from all different walks of life, and different social groups come together and converse.  Some of these people we’ve known our entire lives, others we have known far less, not known extremely well, or not known at all. Regardless, they were all so kind to us, and to each other. 

At one point during the party I took a breather in the bathroom, I fell to the floor and thanked God for His marvelous works in orchestrating what was happening.  I’m sure no one even noticed I was missing, and that was perfectly fine with me. 

As I walked around our home Saturday night listening to bits and pieces of the conversations that were happening, I was humbled and my heart was bursting with Joy.  There were so many smiles, and so much laughter.  There were so many good, helpful, deep conversations happening within the walls of our small ranch home, basement and the garage.  I felt a sense of Pure Joy. 

I hadn’t stressed over cleaning for the party (which was evident this morning {4 days later}, as I realized the amount of things I spaced off cleaning- the piles on top of the fridge, the smears on the windows, toys & mail laying around etc.)  It’s not that I’m a bad housekeeper, or a great housekeeper, it’s just that those things didn’t seem important to me at the time.

I didn’t stress over the food.  We did a simple menu of Sub Sandwiches, Chips, and Cake.  Our drink menu was 2 liters of soda, bottled water, and a keg of beer.  All served from simple disposable dinnerware.  I wasn’t sure how many people we’d have (my ball park guess was about 30 short), but somehow the 24 feet of subs that we ordered were almost entirely devoured and we had minimal leftovers, which we were able to disperse and still have enough to enjoy two extra meals from. 

From the time we decided this party needed to happen, until the time we closed the last folding table and put a clip on the final bag of chips, everything just worked out.  I trusted that God would provide, and He did. 

I serve a faithful, loving God who delights in seeing us open our homes to everyone, not just those who will invite us to theirs, or pay us back in some way.

 

What would hold you back from hosting a gathering where All Are Truly Welcome?