We become a welcoming person when we can step aside from our own needs and desires to create space for someone else. Welcoming involves a quality of listening and presence that communicates to another person that what they are sharing and who they are have importance. When we shift attention and focus from ourselves and direct it toward someone else, positive things can happen. When someone knows that their story matters, it can be life-changing and life-giving. Hospitality brings forth life and celebrates relationships. Whether we are actively tending to the business of serving the needs of others or opening ourselves to listening to their story, devotion and attentiveness are friends of love. Becoming anxious and preoccupied with one's personal agenda leaves no room for the creative, nurturing and spontaneous power of God's love.
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