Thursday, June 30, 2011

Day 181: Expanding Family

A while ago, our pastor preached on our need for fellowship and community. We are created to share our lives and to have relationships, walking this life with people that we can share it with. The message challenged me. My husband and I haven't been able to develop too many deep relationships with people, and I felt like I needed to step up to the plate and really strive to cultivate relationships.

So, that's something that we have been trying to do, and I will tell you that it has been "successful" (a strange word to use, but not really sure of a better one). About two times a week, we share a meal with a couple in our church, and after dinner, the wife and myself go for a walk. We talk and share our lives with each other.

It's a bold step to commit to friendship, and in some ways it can be a little intimidating. I long to be a good friend, and I want to be someone who practices hospitality, sharing what I have and my family's time. I may stumble and bumble along the way, but I think that this effort has been well worth it.

I have been so richly blessed to learn to be a better and better hostess. I feel as though we have extended our family, and find that our own family is enriched by it. My children love when "Mr. and Mrs. D" come over. They were once shy, and quiet, but now it's just normal to have them in our home and to visit theirs. I like that.

I like that our family has expanded.

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