Hendersons, Hospitality, and Healing (month 1).
We sold the first house we ever owned, pack all of our belongings into two PODS (not to be seen again until God knows when), crammed a family of 7 and supplies for 3 months into a minivan and cargo topper, then headed west to Colorado and the uncertainty of the next chapter of our lives.
Our destination? The Hendersons! We would meet the Hendersons for the very first time as we pulled into their driveway and moved into their basement for an unknown amount of time. As seen in the picture above, the Hendersons were not lacking for young boys in their house. The similarities between our families would continue to reveal themselves week after week. It turns out Jerusalem and Brandi had given birth on the exact same day nine years prior.
We cannot express what an anchoring gift the Hendersons, their house, and home were to us as we arrived. As grateful as we are to now be in our own home (a legitimate miracle in light of the market here and our recent unemployment), we miss the gift of living into that space with them. We would not be as far along in our settling journey as we are now without them and the rich time we spent there. The richness cannot be quantified with dollars. The richness was like delighting in dark chocolate.
After we settled in for a few days, we had the DTR (define the relationship) talk with the Hendersons. We were finally realizing just how lengthy and laborious the process would be to find a home here. Those who came before us had found a home in 9 months and supposedly that was fast! What?
The Hendersons told us we were welcome to stay as long as it took and even used the word “years”. Who are these people? Jerusalem and I were overwhelmed at the hurdle of finding a home, but we were more overwhelmed at the Henderson’s hospitality. It has marked us and will continue to shape all that God does in this next season.
"Ironically, it is not just hospitality to the "stranger" that is in peril in our society. We are short not only of tables that welcome strangers but even of tables that welcome friends. In a society that praises youthfulness, the elderly are often isolated from the affection and care of their own families. In many busy families, children find no after-school welcome home, and spouses find a little time to host one another over supper. And when we become estranged-separated by grievances large or small, or simply crowded out of one another's lives-we all too often become strangers even to those we once loved. Can we move beyond strangeness and estrangement to learn the skills of welcoming one another and to claim the joy of homecoming?"
We are grateful to the Hendersons for handing us that joy of homecoming! Please pray that we would be able to release the hospitality we have received so that others would know this gospel that heals.
Over the past few years the quote that hit hardest and lodged in my heart also speaks of hospitality. “Western hospitality is inviting friends over for a few hours; biblical hospitality is persuading strangers to stay one more night; divine hospitality is pursuing enemies, at great personal cost, to turn them into sons and daughters and to welcome them in your house and at your table forever.” This is why we are here! Freely we have received, so freely we must give. Our ultimate aim in moving to Colorado is not simply to invite strangers to our table, or even to a new church, but to extend the invitation of God to dine with Him at His table for eternity.
