Hospitality Services.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day.
First of all, I slept really well last night. I was nice and warm and woke up rested. I got up and went to church with my family, and then came home and had lunch. It consisted of leftovers from last night's Japanese tempura dinner. Oh, it was soooo good! Then my mom had this bright idea to go to Oak Glen. Oak Glen...mmmm, just hearing the name put me in an even better mood. You see, my parents used to take me there when I was little. It's a little town with trinket shops and a petting zoo. There's nice, old ma and pa restaurants, and general feeling of peace and quiet. I always remember that place with fondness...Well, except for this one time I tried to feed this goat thing and it bit my finger, but nonetheless, that place holds good memories.
So we finished up lunch and got on the road. It started to rain as we pulled out of the driveway, and that made me hope that it would be snowing by the time we got to Yucaipa.
Now, let it be known that this adventure was going to consist of my mother, sister, and I riding in the same car for about two hours and spending the rest of the day with each other. My father was sick so he stayed home. This could have easily have turned into a very dangerous situation. The holiday season usually leads us into a series of stressful and catastrophic family outings. So by the time New Years comes around we are too worn out from dealing with each other. But by the grace of God this new year has brought a new hope of healing between us girls in the Carbajal family. The ride up the mountain was actually a lot of fun. We sang to songs on the radio and enjoyed the scenery.
When we arrived at our destination we wandered around and then settled into a restaurant for some hot tea and apple pie. Then it started to snow! It was absolutely beautiful. I had never been in such a thick down pour of snow before. This was no little drop of ice here and there kind of snow. This was real, fluffy flurries of powdered sugar from the sky! We frolicked and took pictures and had a grand old time. It was absolutely perfect.
Then we decided to stop at an old friends house for a little visit. Now, this part of my day is what inspired me to write this blog. We were visiting our dear friends Greg and Becky Peck. They have known my parents since before I was born and I have known them my whole life. They have been to every major event in my life thus far, and I consider Becky to be my adopted aunt. She is just a few years older than my mother and the sweetest person you will ever meet. She has a hilarious sense of humor and is incredibly creative. Her house is covered in literally hundreds of decorations that she has made with her own hands. She does ceramics, pottery, painting, weaving, and sculpting. I have never met a more down to earth woman of God.
And there just this feeling you get when you walk into her house...tonight was the first night I could put words to that feeling.
Rest. Comfort. Safety. Peace.
Something about that household radiates the love of Christ. You can feel it in the glow of her handmade candles. You can see it in the sparkle of her eyes and as she laughs at a crack she just made at herself. You can sense the Holy Spirit speaking through her as she imparts words of wisdom about life, love, art, and family.
There has never been a time where I have left that household not feeling refreshed. I feel as though I have just taken a breath of fresh air. I feel as though someone has rekindled the fire within my soul, empowering it with hope and dreams for the future.
Tonight I realized that I want my home to feel like that. I want the walls in my house to reverberate with love and comfort. One day when I am married and all my paintings are strewn about the house, I want people to walk in and be able to take their shoes off, literally and figuratively. I want my household to be a place where you can breath and just be. Just be and let the Lord work into your veins again. So I am adding this to my list of goals this year. I don't have my own place right now, but there's no harm in trying to work that glow that I see in Becky's eyes into my heart. I know that it stems from the joy of the Lord. And honestly, that feeling has become few and far between my days as of late. I pray that it will be brought back. And soon.