My parents always have dozens of hummingbirds. They keep four large feeders filled.
I recently attended a luncheon hosted by a delightful neighbor of mine. We have two families on our street who are moving. One is moving just one town away and the other is moving all the way home to Germany. My neighbor thought it would be nice to gather the ladies on our street together to say goodbye.
I was crazy busy that day. I was at the end of planning for Vacation Bible School and the house was a mess, but I stopped what I was doing in the middle of a Saturday and went across the street for lunch. Boy, was I glad I did. She had appetizers, (made herself, not the frozen ones.) She had Prosecco, tea, and lemonade. She had a table set with beautiful linens and she was using her good china.
The food was delicious and the company was superb. We were all mixed ages and backgrounds as neighbors tend to be, but we found plenty to chat about over lunch. We laughed at each other and with each other. We participated in community.
One of the ladies who relocated here from Las Vegas, was asking about hummingbirds. She wanted to know if any of us had any. I asked her if she had a feeder out. She said no. That lead us to talk about all of the squirrels that raid our bird feeders if we attempt to have one, but her question got me to thinking.
When I put a hummingbird feeder out in the late spring or early summer, I always have hummingbirds, always. If I put it out too early, I won’t get any, but that’s because it’s not the right season, not because they don’t appreciate the feeder.
How often are we like that? We complain or feel badly that we don’t have close friends or that we don’t know our neighbors, but do we ever extend an invitation or open our doors to strangers to make them friends?
If we have extended an invitation and we were turned down, perhaps it wasn’t a rejection. Perhaps it just wasn’t the right season. If I put out a hummingbird feeder in December, I won’t get any hummingbirds. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the feeder is. The birds just aren’t around in December. But, if I put it out during the right season, I always have visitors.
I will never have hummingbirds if I don’t put out a feeder. By the same token, I won’t get to know my neighbors if I don’t accept or extend invitations to or from them for lunch or dinner.
A little hospitality is an amazing thing. It can be as small as a plate of brownies to welcome new neighbors or an elegant luncheon using the good china. It’s almost always appreciated and I am always blessed when I accept invitations or extend them.
I think I’ll make an effort to be less busy and extend a little more hospitality this summer and see what happens. I’ll bet it will be a lot like the hummingbirds at the feeder. What do you think about hospitality? I’d love to hear from you.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂