Out Home

        Isn’t it interesting what memories were seared in your memory? The smell of a place, the taste of a food, the sound of a voice.  I am certain that memories are flooding forth for you.  It would be fun to hear your memories.  

Some that seem foremost in my brain are the thoughts I have about going “Out Home.”  That was the endearing term we used for the home that my great-aunts lived. It was their family home. Aunt Helen and Aunt Wade opened their doors wide to so many people as a respite in this dark world and it truly was a home to so many.  And it smelled like home. 

Even though Aunt Wade had a step-son neither of the wonderful women had birth children, but that did not stop them from parenting. Aunt Helen practically raised her brothers and sister and then went into teaching, which she did for decades before she retired.  But so many people felt like their children.  Grown men, particularly pastors, in our little town would show up at their kitchen table for coffee and dessert knowing that they would be cared for and encouraged.  Hurting people, wounded people, lonely people would show up.  I can not tell you the amount of times I would hear the Aunts say who had shown up and I would be so surprised that “that” person had come.  I now wonder how many others came that we never knew about.  One youth minister was given his own key with an open door policy that if he ever needed a place to come he was always welcomed. Peoples’ lives were different as a result of their care.  My life is blessed because of their lives.

They kept loving too. My parents divorced after a fairly long but challenging marriage.  My dad had moved to our town from Pennsylvania.  His family lived a long way away.  Aunt Helen and Aunt Wade made it a point to regularly have Dad out for dinner.  He always felt loved and welcomed there.  And my Mom never complained.  She was so secure in their love for her that she knew they had enough to pour into others as well.  Way to go Mom!

       
        As I think about their example I consider our table and our home.  May we never forget how important hospitality is.  It is a gift to be able to invite others in to eat with us.  It does not have to be a gourmet meal and our home does not have to be perfect to love people.  We often ate leftovers when we went to Aunts’ house.  But I can not tell you how blessed we are for having gotten to go. I just know that when I get to heaven God will have given them a round kitchen table and a coffee pot so that we can all sit around and visit.  

So let us all brew a fresh pot today and grab some cookies.  Take a chance and reach out to an older neighbor who may need conversation.  Or maybe their is a younger one who needs an older person to encourage them.  It is amazing what God can do with two little women and a kitchen table. Just imagine what he has in store for you.