The Space in Your Heart

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13 NLT)

It’s not about the space you have at your table.

It’s about the space you have in your heart to make room for others.

I was blessed to have grown up in a multi-generational home.

A modest house filled with a blended family, a grandmother and great grandmother.

My great-grandmother slept in a hospital bed in the dining room.

I can still feel myself sitting at the mahogany table and seeing her bed in the corner.

My older sisters and my mother worked hard to make sure her needs were met, even taking turns sleeping on a cot in the living room in case Granny Lyons needed anything during the night.

When Agnes flooded our town in the 1970’s, we took in another family after their place was uninhabitable.

On Vine Street, I learned what it meant to make room for others.

Those memories from early childhood shaped my perspective of what sharing God’s love looked like in practical ways.

Fast forward almost 30 years later.

My husband and I began our search for a house that we could grow in.

Once again I was living in a multi-generational household, with a newly married couple, aging parents and eventually children.

This provision has been more than a roof over our heads.

It has become a classroom of sorts where many lessons have been learned.

Another reminder that God positions us where He wants to use us.

Where He would allow us to bless others and for others to bless us.

This house would become our mission field, a safe haven to welcome others.

To actively share His love in practical ways, just as I had learned as a child.

In addition to my parents, there were a number of family members who stayed with us over the years.

Our friends would often joke, “who is living in the basement now?”

Countless people had the code to our garage to enter whenever they needed.

Birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and even my parent’s vow renewal have taken place here.

God tells us in His word that there is a time for everything that happens.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT)

While this house has been filled with many beautiful memories, there have been many painful moments here as well.

Three cancers diagnoses under one roof within three years, and the death of my parents eight months apart.

In a place where we had provided for others, we were in a season of receiving and grieving.

When I could not make meals due to my illness, we still gathered around the table with the provisions given by others.

The table symbolized a place of connection and hope.

The spot where there were countless card games, late night talks, and hard conversations.

A gathering place for many and a quiet place to sit alone and reflect.

There were not always enough spots at the table for everyone, but we always made room.

Even if that meant dressing up some folding tables and borrowing some chairs from the neighbor.

Bodies have been nourished with homemade mac and cheese and burgers on the grill.

Souls have been nourished by walking into a safe space and met with open arms.

Each time, my hope is that others feel His love when they walk through the door.

Celebrations of life and baby showers.

Youth Bible studies and sleepovers.

Laughter and tears.

We have made room for it all.

All because He first loved us.

None of it would be possible without Him.

The interior may still have old linoleum flooring in the kitchen and Harvest Gold tiles in one of the bathrooms, but there is a table for all who enter to come and sit for a while.

And even when we did not have enough room at the table, we have always had enough love in our hearts to make room for others.

Where can you make room for someone today?

How can you really show His love to those around you?

Invite someone to your table.

Even if you have to borrow some extra chairs.