Open Home Part 1

A couple of months in to married life I read an extraordinary book called Open Heart, Open Home by Karen Mains (maybe it was only extraordinary to me because it was a new idea for me!). For two months our home had become a sanctuary for Aaron and I. We had it completely to ourselves for conversation, and romantic dinners with candles and bottles of wine, and going to bed at the end of the day. Everything had a place, and the routines of washing, cooking, and shopping were running smoothly. It was lovely.

Then I read this book and it transformed my perspective on our home. I realised that a home is not just a private place for our enjoyment, but it is a ministry opportunity, and people are to be welcomed in. What a difference it makes to see your home as a resource for God! It becomes so much more than the house and furniture! (I don't think this is at all exclusive to married couples either!) I began to think about how to use this gift for God's glory, trusting that God's presence in our home could make it a significant place for prayer and open conversation, and even people coming to know God for the first time.

It was no surprise to me that within days my new resolve to use my home for God would be put to the test. At about 7.30am one morning Aaron received a text from a friend in his football team saying that he and his girlfriend had no where to live as the house they were going to buy had fallen through, and asking if they could stay with us. Normally I would have said 'no' (but nicely!), especially as we had been told that we needed our own space in the first six months of marriage. Normally I am a very sensible person, but because of what God had shown me about our home, my heart leapt at the opportunity.

Three days later (after frantically emptying the spare room i.e our junk room) we were sharing our house with the couple and their belongings. We prepared ourselves for the challenge, praying that God would be glorified in our home, and that Christian marriage (and Christian faith in general) would look glorious and different because of the way Aaron and I lived and interacted.

To be continued...xx