CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN DAY 6: OPEN THE FRONT DOOR … COMPANY’S COMING!

And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen.
– Ward Elliot Hour

Several years into our marriage Doug informed me we would NOT be entertaining house guests ever again. That is, until I learned not to be a PSYCHO when company was coming.

Ouch.

But he was right. Perfectionism reigned and no one–parent or child–was allowed to sit down until everything in the house was as picture-perfect as we could get it. “You’re no fun when company’s coming,” he complained. “And you make life hell for everyone else.”

That really got my attention. I love having company and I certainly didn’t want to make my family crazy.  So I had to learn to lower my standards, for myself and for my house.  And I’m so glad I did!

Years, maturity, and perspective have shown me that my house guests don’t generally care as much about what my house looks like as I do. In fact, it’s not about the house at all … hospitality is about loving people. When I think about the homes I’ve  enjoyed visiting the most, they’ve not been the ones that were the most perfect. They’ve been the ones that were the most welcoming.

This evening Dave and Katrina, our Australian/UK friends from California arrived.  They’ve spent the last several years’ worth of holidays with us and are just like family. Friday Tyler and Lexi will roll in. The rest of the kids and significant others will show up Christmas Day, along with both sets of parents and a single-dad friend with his son.  It’s going to be a houseful!

The house looks pretty good if you don’t look too closely.  And I’m not stressed out about it. It’s full of lights, good food, music, games, presents, family traditions, Christmasy-stuff (pretty but not too Better Homes and Gardens), and lots of love.

It’s full of crazy people, too, but I know I can safely say it’s not because I made them that way getting ready for company. They got that way quite handily all on their own. But that’s what makes it all twice the fun.  🙂

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”  ~Hebrews 13:2