{31 Days of Hospitality} Day 12 ~ The Myth of Convenience

con·ve·nient(adj.): suited to personal comfort or to easy performance

Since when is anything that is worthwhile convenient?  

Is it convenient to rise at 2 am with a nursing baby?  Or to study for a test?  Or to put your husband's needs before your own?  

Is it convenient to write a thank you note?  Or to stop your work to settle a quarrel between siblings?  Or to make your bed?  

Then why should we expect for hospitality to be convenient?  

One of my favorite homemaking blogs is Pleasant View Schoolhouse and I think that I have read every post that Anna has written.  A few years ago she told a story that has stayed with me, and the principle she shared had become my own way of thinking.  

Anna's family hosts an annual dinner for Grandpa (Anna's father-in-law), but this particular year's celebration fell at a very inconvenient time.  On the very day of the party, she and her husband had to drive out of town to pick a son up from college. They spent the day away from home, and returned with only ninety minutes to prepare dinner before their guest arrived.  Ninety minutes!  

But the statement that closed Anna's post is the one that made the impression.  She said, 

"The older I get the more I realize that it's almost never *convenient* to go to a lot of trouble for something. You just have to do it anyway. And enjoy."

So that's how I deal with my own hospitality challenge #3.  

Just do it.

Sometimes we have to plan waaaaay ahead to find a date that is clear for both the inviters and the invitees. 

Sometimes we have to just fly by the seat of our pants and do something impromptu.  

Sometimes unplanned things arise that demand a change of plans.

Sometimes it's a busy week, or the house isn't spotless, or the lawn isn't mowed.  

But who says it has to be convenient?  

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