Tonight, after I had tucked Munchkin into bed and had gotten ready for bed myself, our doorbell rang. I went to the door to see who was at our door at this time of night. It was our neighbor. I looked around our house; it was a bit messy as I’ve been focusing my energy on taking care of Munchkin. I sighed and opened the door. She needed some ice (her son had oral surgery and they didn’t have any more ice to make ice packs) and wanted to know if I had some to spare.
Knowing that my house was less than perfect, I welcomed her in while I retrieved the ice. We talked for a while as I filled up the bags for her. We were both a little frazzled due to the craziness of taking care of our sick/hurting kiddos for the week. She said that she had to turn down a prospective renter looking at her house today because they just showed up without warning. She also said that it meant the world to be able to know that she could just pop over and get the ice.
Inside, I felt a little guilty because I hadn’t opened the door with the right heart attitude. I was thinking about how less than perfect the house was at the moment, and I was thinking about the fact that I had to get up when I was just settling down for the night. The truth is that neither thing really mattered. What really mattered was showing hospitality when someone really needed it. Once I again, it was a reality check that I need to let go of perfection.
bless you
Im sure she wasnt concerned about the state of your house and grateful for the ice
Jen
What a great way to be able to minister to her!
Between you and me, I’m so excited to go to someone’s house when they haven’t cleaned for me. It makes me feel so much better to see that not everyone keeps there house perfectly. 🙂 ’cause, I sure drop that ball a lot. I could send you pictures that would make you feel better! 🙂