Unexpected Hospitality When You’re Not Prepared
/Are you prepared for strangers in work boots to tramp through your house? Right now?
such friendly, helpful looking people. it’s a stock photo, but i’m sure they are nice in real life!
Let me tell you my story.
It’s a story of unexpected visitors.
And an extremely messy house.
Don’t worry - there is no tragedy or heartbreak in this story.
I work from home. I have my own video production business, specializing in small business advertising and video courses.
I’m open for new clients, by the way!
nope, that’s not me. it’s just another stock photo.
It’s Monday, the day after Thanksgiving week. We had been gone for a week, and were settling back into a routine and decorating for Christmas.
Monday was for catching up with work and restocking the fridge.
It’s 3pm. There is an urgent knock on the door. It is the construction man doing demolition on our attached garage.
Not my door. not my construction worker.
“I hit your gas line. I’ve called 911. I got to come in and turn off your oven gas. Get outside!”
My next door neighbor offers cold water to my distraught Construction Man.
Within minutes, four fire engines, two police vehicles, and one motorcycle cop roll up. I can’t see the gas spewing out, but it is a very very loud hiss. I fear my gas bill will be humongous!
Everything turns out fine. It took until 5pm (2 hours) for it to be safe to go back inside, and my gas didn’t get turned back on until 1:30 in the morning. Good thing we don’t live in a cold part of the country!
But here is my point:
A lot of people walked through my house while they worked to keep me safe.
And my house is a MESS!
definately a stock photo. there is no way i’m going to show you my real messy house!
I told you it was the first normal day after being away for Thanksgiving week. Here’s what all the workers encountered while tramping through my house:
grocery bags by the front door
fruits and vegetables all over the kitchen counter
Christmas boxes filling the hallway
Christmas decorations in various states of readiness
laundry basket blocking the back door
shoes, jackets, and bags strewn everywhere
a bunch of Amazon boxes in various stages of unpacking
a week’s worth of junk mail on the table
suitcases still on the floor
recycling can overfilled
amazingly, one of the gas company men looks a lot like this stock photo guy!
Let’s look at the big picture.
My house is still intact.
No one was hurt.
We didn’t freeze during the mild November night.
We saw our fine city employees doing a great job.
Let’s look at the small picture.
Everyone saw my messy house.
What is my point?
I’m sure these workers have seen it all! They’ve probably entered homes that are much more messy than mine.
I’m not going to apologize for being caught at a particularly challenging transition day.
But still!
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
My neighbor showed hospitality by offering cold water to my distraught construction worker. And other neighbors showed hospitality to me by making phone calls (I ran out without my phone) and offering a camp chair to sit on while I waited oustide.
I hope the workers would say I showed hospitality by staying out of their way so they could do their work. And that I didn’t complain or fuss.
But my goal today: