Hospitality for the Weary Hostess--Part 1

Paradise Island, Bahamas, originally uploaded by mmelzer.

“I’m moving to the Bahamas to braid hair for a living.”

I’ve echoed my college drama teacher’s sentiments many times before to express my frustration with life. But last week I was tempted to make that very career change to cure my five-day stress-induced headache.

Although I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as I usually am, I thought I was handling life, work, and the inherent stress pretty well. Looking back now, the stress began accumulating after the Christmas holidays, continued through February as an ice storm knocked out our electricity (and thus our heat and water) for two days and I dealt with a sinus infection, and came to a head in March as I dealt with round two of my sinus infection. The demands of work added to the load, and last Tuesday night found me ready to reserve a one-way ticket to the Caribbean.

I was emotionally spent and in need of some hospitality for myself. Hospitality to revive my own soul.

Now, I had posted two weeks ago about hostesses needing their souls revived before they can minister to others. And I knew that the post was merely the start of a conversation with you all about the core of hospitality. However, I had no idea I would be speaking to my own present-day need and considering how to put “feet” on this concept of experiencing hospitality within myself.

So…am I moving to the Caribbean? Umm…no. Not yet.

But I’m okay with that.

I’m discovering how to be a good hostess to my own soul. I’m uncertain if I will ever master the lessons because they’re more about the process than the finished product. But what I’ve learned so far has encouraged me to forego the escape to warmer places and, as the saying goes, bloom where I’m planted. bjh

To be continued…