Brick Wall or Open Door
Imagine walking down an alley, feeling surrounded by unsure things, not sure what's ahead, but you keep walking because it seems the only thing to do. Finally, the dark feels a little thicker, you're path a little bleaker. You come to discover the only thing before you is a brick wall.
Rewind a second to set the scene back in the alley at the bleaker part only instead of the brick wall there before you stands an open door. Which scenario would you choose? We'd all rather have an open door than a dead end, right?
Hospitality is a bit like that -- being an agent of hope by receiving others through kindness and humility. Walking through the grocery store, grabbing your mail at the post office, passing others in the hallways of work or school...the way we carry ourselves sends a message to those we encounter. Depending on personality, a person's history or current life circumstances, we find ourselves at varying degrees of openness, all of which are a good place to start!
To help us both Hope on Purpose through hospitality, January's challenge is to begin opening ourselves up a scooch more than normal -- to live beyond our comfort zones, even a little. Make time for someone this month, however that looks for you and your depth of openness at this time. Make that phone call you you've been dreading. Slow down in the grocery store, making eye contact and saying hello to the shoppers instead of rushing past them (especially those slower, elderly shoppers!). Make that coffee date. Stop and listen to how a person's day was after you (generically?) ask. However it looks for you, practice being open in the small ways, in the brief moments!
A string of small ways + brief moments = a banner of hospitality!
