The Kindness of the Welcoming Hostess

"Each day holds a surprise.  But only if we expect it can we see, hear or feel it when it comes to us.  Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy, it will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.
~ Henri Nouwen

I have a friend who has an incredibly generous heart.  I see it in action time and time again.  Most recently, she hosted a dinner at her home after a men's religious retreat in which her husband had participated.  She invited family and friends, and you had the sense that anyone who wanted to come would be welcomed.  At the church, we ran into a dear friend whom we did not know was doing the retreat and of course my friend invited him to the dinner.  Before we ate, we all held hands and prayed, and there were quite a few teary eyes.  Perhaps some of the tears were joy, but I know that some of the tears reflected difficult journeys.  We were quite a diverse group -- ranging in age from toddler to 92.  Two of the men (one older and one not very old) were in wheelchairs and two others had degenerative conditions, but there was a piece of wood put in place to serve as a ramp and side tables were pressed into service to make it easier for some of the members of the group to eat.  There were caretakers among the group and mothers worried about their children.  But for a couple of hours on a Sunday late afternoon, my friend's kindness created an atmosphere in which people talked and laughed, shared their struggles and felt the important saving grace of human connection.