Hospitality Journey: Day 6 Recap

Well, at least they surprised us at church where we had clothes on and the children were dressed reasonably well, right?

Yep, after Sunday school yesterday morning I checked my phone and there was a text from my mom saying they had just gotten off at our exit and would see us at church. My jaw dropped and I showed Reid. Five minutes later, my parents walked into church.  Josephine clapped her hands and squealed "MeMom! Papa!" when she saw them.  Reid and I just squeezed our hands tightly together and exchanged glances in an "Oh my goodness, no they didn't!, but we'll smile and hold on tight to one another" kind of way.

We had a really nice day together regardless of the surprise and Reid didn't feel bad about working past dark on the tractor since I had eager babysitters who not only drove four hours for the job to work for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. And, it did give me the opportunity after lunch to use my very favorite response that a reader posted on Facebook when I asked the question "What would you do if unexpected company drove up to your house?"  The response was to throw open the front door and announce, "Well, the mansion's trashed but come on in!"

I will honestly admit though that if this had happened the previous Sunday I might have politely waited until after church was over and then tell my parents just what I really thought of them showing up unannounced.  I mean, I love my parents dearly, but please! Come on, Mom, Dad- at least give me a little more notice so I can shove everything in a bedroom, lock the door and save face like my house was spotless and my life was perfect.  I don't want you to know that I really do.not.care that we toss clothes on the floor and they gradually make their way to the hallway where they then gradually make their way to the laundry room.  For your visits, mother dearest, I like to put all the clothes at least in the laundry room or lock them in my bedroom so you may continue to believe I wash, dry, fold and iron religiously.

And the thing about that thought is this:  Why does it matter so, so, so, so, so, soooo much what my mother thinks of my house?  God calls us to open up our homes.  He doesn't call us to timidly open our doors in fear of what others think of how we run our households.  He calls us to boldly swing open our doors and if we have to, proclaim "The mansion's trashed but come on in!!"  He gives us validity in the very fact that he created us in His image.  We are validated by this alone; not also by our homes, and not even what our mothers think of our homes.

The other thing that came up because of this:  Rather than Reid and I stewing all the way home from church and lunch or him saying something negative about his in-law's surprise visit, he just held my hand and laughed.  Then when we got home, he sprung into action and had the house picked up, laundry going and dishes washed in twenty minutes.  My heart swelled with gratitude toward him and when he did put his overalls on to go outside, he looked better than ever to me.

It turned out to really be true when they tell you to be careful what you pray for, because we actually do want to have the kind of house that doesn't shake with unexpected guests.  We want the kind of marriage that isn't divided into my life v. his life or my time v. his time or my family v. his family or my turn v. his turn. And we clearly got our chance yesterday to put that desire to the test.

So, thank you Reid, for your attitude and graciousness yesterday.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for loving us and our children so very much that you would drive four hours just to spend an afternoon with us, and that you didn't call because you really didn't want me to stress over cleaning. I enjoyed yesterday immensely.  (But do call next time...)

Love,
Kathryn