My family recently returned from a cruise to the Western Caribbean. We had such a great time together. Reflecting on our trip I realized that one reason we had so much fun was because of our waiter, Martin. He was a wonderful young man from the Czech Republic. With his beautiful accent and charming ways, he made sure we felt welcome when we came to dinner each evening. Now, I realize that he was doing his job, but observing his service made me think about ways we can make our guests feel more comfortable when we invite them into our homes.
The first thing Martin did when we met him was to learn our names. You might think that is standard for all the waiters, but it is not. We actually did not meet Martin until our second evening on the cruise. We originally had a different seating time and waiter. Our first waiter was very nice and attentive, but he never inquired about our names. We were moved to an earlier seating the next day and were placed in Martin’s care. Martin not only addressed us by name at dinner, he remembered us whenever he saw us on the ship.
Our names are important. Everyone wants to be known by someone. What I am taking away from this experience is that if we really want to get to know someone, we must know their name. And by knowing their name, we get to know them and who they really are. With our fast paced and hectic lives we do not take the time to get to know people on a deep, intimate level.
My challenge this week is to invite someone into my home with the purpose of getting to know them better. By forging bonds with other people, we create a sense of community that I feel is lacking in our society today. And when we develop community we strengthen our own families and churches. We have more of a desire to minister to others.
I pray for you this week that God will reveal to you someone you need to encourage by getting to know them better. Please add your comments to this post and share how you get to know others.
APRIL GIVEAWAY
This month’s giveaway is the book The Busy Mom’s Guide by Kathy Peel. If you leave a comment on my blog anytime in the month of April your name will go into a drawing for the book.
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3 comments:
Hey Jennifer,
Guess what I did this weekend? I cleaned my baseboards! And boy did they need cleaning!!!
Jennifer thanks for teaching us so much. I really love reading your blog.
Jennifer,
I love reading you devotions. God has blessed you with a knack for discipleship and a keen ability to encourage. Thank you for your generosity in sharing with all of us!
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