Carrie Cox’s Corner

Today I am thankful for all the little things, which really are the big things in life. Tonight I was sitting in my room drinking hot chocolate, piano music was filling the air, and my heart felt happiness and peace. I am so thankful to have a peaceful home.

I am thankful for the peace. I am also thankful for the modern conveniences: electricity, internet, air conditioning (we don’t need heat until January), chats with friends, laughs with children, naps in cozy beds.

We stayed in the guest room this week. We had a visitor here and decided to give him our room and bathroom so he had some privacy and a bit more space. We moved up to the guest room, but I was telling the family last night that it felt a bit like a holiday up there, or a hotel. I know it feels this way because I don’t live it in-like my bedroom that has all my clutter and all the evidence of un-made decisions lying around.

No, our guest room is pretty minimal, although nicely styled. It is also gets really dark up there. There is one window but it’s off to the side and covered with drapes, and the bed is really cozy. You can sleep for days up there. I am so thankful that we are able to have a home that has a guest room. There have been times, many times, where I’ve been tempted to use that room for something else, but I remember the little woman in the Bible who wanted to make a little space for the prophet, and I remember that hospitality is a form of love, and it takes sacrifice. I have to remind myself of that when the pressure is on to get everything ready before the guests arrive. I was griping a bit while I was cleaning my room before we were preparing for our guest. Apparently guest clean is about 10 times more clean than regular clean. I love and hate that. It’s so much pressure, sometimes, but when it is finished I feel such relief and pride. I’ve done my best. I am prepared. I am ready to share my home.

It was how I was raised. Mom is the queen, the QUEEN, of hospitality. I don’t think I’ve reached her status yet, but I am thankful that we are able to open up our home to others. Last night we were all sitting around the table with our guest and our family. We were talking, going through memory lane together, laughing, snacking…there is nothing like it. It is precious fellowship, and one that you don’t get if you don’t step out on a limb and open your door.

I am thankful for all the hospitality I have received. Some of my best memories as a child were from staying in homes of pastors all over the country. My dad was an evangelist and we traveled a lot visiting churches. It was rare for us to stay in a hotel. I actually thought it was boring. We stayed mostly in people’s homes. I can look back and see that it was a gift. Sure there were a few awkward placed that we stayed, but honestly very few.

We had some families that we would just stop in whenever we were driving through and they would open their homes, their pantries, their hearts. It was precious fellowship. We didn’t get gourmet meals or perfectly styled homes, but we did have a warm meal and clean sheets, and what more do you need really? These were the days before cell phones, before GPS arrival times. We would just let them know we were stopping by and show up whenever we got there. Doesn’t that sound stressful now? But it was so exciting then.

We had lots of visitors at our home too. The home I grew up in is a big old two story house that was blue and shaped like a barn. It was big, but it was rustic. We didn’t even have a shower, but that didn’t stop Mom and Dad from opening their doors and welcoming their friends with the best that they had.

I remember when mom would tell me our friends would be stopping by for a night or two. We knew someone was coming, but we didn’t know when. All day was a race against the clock to get the house ready.

My dad talks about his childhood and how they always looked forward to company coming over. He was born in 1950, but because his family was so dirt poor, his stories sound like they’re from the 1920’s. They didn’t have a car, only had electricity half the time, and moved about every other month when the rent came due (he said $25 a month was real hard to come by). His momma came from a family of 14 kids, so there was always somebody around to come visit. Uncle Johnny would drive his crank start old car on Saturday to take them into town. The kids would know Saturday morning that Uncle Johnny was coming, but they didn’t know when. He said they would go outside and lay down with their ear to the gravel road to hear the vibrations of the car. They could hear it before they could see it. As soon as it started rumbling, he would jump up and run up to the house to alert everyone saying, “Somebody’s coming! Somebody’s a Comin’!”

Dad preached a sermon on this thought and likened it to when the Lord comes back and how we are to look for him. I don’t have to have my ear to the ground to hear the earth and the nations rumbling. I believe I’ll be like dad and tell you what I’ve know even without seeing, “SOMEBODY’S A COMIN!”

When someone comes over, it does take a lot of preparations. But you know what? Before our Lord is coming, he is making preparations. He said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Can you imagine being in HIS house? Mansions and streets of gold? The Lord God almighty is showing hospitality to us. He has sacrificed so that we have a place. He wants it to be perfect for his guests, his family. He is working for us! Man, how am I worthy? I feel like Peter when the Lord wanted to wash his feet. Nay, Lord. I don’t deserve it. But man am I thankful. Think of the music, the peace, the majesty in his house. If I can enjoy my home down here, and have a little bit of heaven on earth, hear the music, the laughter, the peace; think of what it will be like in Heaven.

As I sit here in my little home, hearing the hum of the dryer as we wash away the remnants of company, as I feel the warmth from the glow of the soft lights, hear the quiet of children in bed before 10:00 because it’s a school night, as I write these words and reflect, I smile. This is blessed.

Check out all the posts from my November Thankful Challenge