When Carmen and I moved to Florida, we were following God’s plan to the best of our ability. Looking back now, I realize we were only seeing the first page. Florida was the destination with the Palm trees, warm weather, a slower pace of life, and a fresh start. He was making room for things that were unknown or unseen to us.
God wasn’t simply changing our address; He was preparing our hearts. At the time, we couldn’t see it. We thought we were moving into a new home. But God was preparing a place where people from all over the world would one day experience His love.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Making Room
Romans 12:13
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
After settling into Florida, life felt wonderfully ordinary. I was coaching business owners. Carmen was searching for where she fit in this new season.
Then an unexpected opportunity appeared. Someone suggested we rent out the extra bedrooms in our home.
Honestly… Carmen saw ministry. I saw strangers sleeping in my house. If I’m being completely honest, my first thought wasn’t excitement. It was something closer to:
“I like people… just not this much.”
The idea of sharing our kitchen, our coffee mornings, our living room, and our quiet routines with people we had never met felt uncomfortable.
Carmen looked at the opportunity and saw people. I looked at it and saw inconvenience.
Looking back now, I smile. Because one of us was seeing with eyes of hospitality. The other was still learning.
We Thought We Were Renting Rooms
1 Peter 4:9
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Our first guests arrived. Then another. And then another.
Something unexpected happened. In a short period of time, we had stopped calling them “guests.” They were becoming part of our story. Every reservation came with a person. Every suitcase carried a story. And every knock at the front door became an opportunity to notice someone God deeply loved.
Carmen prepared every room with fresh flowers. She left handwritten notes. She prayed over beds before people arrived. At the time, I thought she was simply decorating. Now I realize she was creating spaces where people could breathe.
She made it a place where weary travelers could feel seen. Where strangers could become friends. Hospitality wasn’t about beautiful rooms. It was about making room in our hearts.
Three Guests I’ll Never Forget
Proverbs 22:9
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
One evening, a couple from Costa Rica stayed with us. They spoke almost no English. We spoke almost no Spanish. Well, I spoke none and Carmen very little.
Our translation app was hilariously bad. At one point, I tried to say, “We’re so glad you’re here.” I think the app translated something actually closer to, “Your goat smells like a chair.”
We laughed until our stomachs hurt. We couldn’t speak the same language yet somehow we understood each other perfectly.
Another time, two young women from Canada accidentally dropped their rental car keys into Tampa Bay. Gone. Just like that.
They came back to our home devastated. Instead of simply wishing them luck, we helped them make phone calls, solve the problem, and reassure worried parents hundreds of miles away in Canada.
For a few days, we weren’t simply hosts. We became family.
Then came Alex and Brianna. Somewhere between coffee conversations, prayers, and shared stories, they stopped referring to us as their hosts. Instead, they called us their “Florida Mom and Dad.”
Those words still make me smile. Looking back now, I don’t think they came looking for a place to sleep. I think God brought them looking for a place to belong.
And there are many other stories not time enough to share…
What God Was Really Building
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In my mind, I thought we were learning how to host guests. Now I know God was teaching us how to love people. He was shaping Carmen’s incredible gift of hospitality. He was softening my cautious heart. And, He was teaching us that ministry isn’t so formal as it is at church behind a pulpit.
Sometimes it happens across a kitchen table. Sometimes it happens through fresh flowers on a nightstand. And sometimes it happens by listening to someone’s story over a cup of coffee.
We weren’t just opening our home. God was opening our lives. And without realizing it, He was preparing us for something much bigger than we could imagine. What eventually became Chateau Mariposa didn’t begin with weddings or celebrations.
It began with one open bedroom. One open door. One open heart.
Making Room
Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The older I get, the more I realize that hospitality has very little to do with square footage. It has everything to do with making room. Making room for conversations. Making room for interruptions. And making room for laughter. Making room for someone who feels lonely. Making room for someone who needs encouragement. And making room for God to love someone through us.
Not everyone has an extra bedroom. But everyone has room for one more person at a table, one more phone call, one more conversation, or one more act of kindness.
Hospitality isn’t about having more. It’s about opening what you’ve already been given.
A Simple Invitation
Maybe you aren’t ready for God to have you open your home. But He’s certainly asking you to open your heart.
Who has He quietly placed in your path? A new neighbor, a coworker, or someone who’s grieving? Maybe it’s a college student far from home, or a young couple who simply needs someone older to believe in them?
You may never know what God wants to do through a simple invitation. A cup of coffee, a listening ear, or even a handwritten note. Maybe it’s an open seat at your table.
Small acts of welcome often become holy moments. Making Room…
Challenge of the Week
This week, instead of asking, “Lord, what do You want me to accomplish?” Ask, “Lord, who do You want me to notice?” Then make room for one person. Invite someone to lunch. Call someone who’s been on your mind. Write a note of encouragement. Pray with someone. Open your table. Offer your time. Because sometimes the greatest ministry God gives us isn’t found on a stage. Sometimes it’s found at our front door. And sometimes the greatest gift we can offer another person…is simply helping them feel at home. So be it.
The series posts leading up to this point in the journey:
- When Love Found Me – This is the introduction to it all –
- Before Love Found Me – God was pursuing me before I knew it.
- God at a Distance – I was looking in the wrong places.
- When God Broke In – God met me in my brokenness.
- After the Tears – Following Jesus became a shared journey.
- Packing Up Faith – Obedience required leaving the familiar.
- The Ministry We Never Saw Coming – God transformed our home into a place where others could encounter His love (that’s this post).
You can visit us at our Chateau Mariposa website.
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