A welcome sign

Does a welcome sign hang over your heart?

Are you good at hospitality? I don't just mean the kind where you cook a great meal, but the real hospitality of making people feel welcome in your presence wherever you are, not just in your own home.

I have to admit, there are times when I don't feel hospitable. When I'm tired and crotchety, having to be welcoming does not come easily. I would much rather be on my own, waving a paintbrush around or curled up with a book. That's because when I'm tired I'm me-centred rather than thinking of the other person. Being hospitable means concerning yourself more with the comfort of the other person than your own.

A welcoming heart needs to be ready to be uncomfortable and to put aside its own agenda.