Another knock at the door… more unexpected guests. How long will they stay? What will I feed them? Why do people keep coming to visit without an invitation? 

While I asked myself these questions often during my first few years overseas, I felt like I was bombarded with them on a daily basis when I married a Peruvian and moved out of the ministry center into our own little home in town. Suddenly, it seemed like our house had a revolving door! 

I’ll admit that it took me a while to get used to the Latin custom of unexpected visits, both the friends who stopped by our house, as well as the fact that my husband wanted to drop in on his friends and family without formal invitations. But once I learned to put away my “to-do list” for the afternoon, and figured out that it was perfectly fine to serve something simple like tea with bread and jam, I began to enjoy these unexpected visits. In fact, this is the thing I miss the most when we come back to the U.S. on home assignment. 

For many cultures, this idea of presence, of simply spending time with friends and family, goes beyond the unexpected visits. It means setting aside not just a couple of hours, but an entire day to celebrate a wedding. Making room on your calendar for a church retreat even if it’s not how you wanted to spend the weekend. Sitting with neighbors in a stuffy room during the two-day wake for a family member who has died. In my twenty years overseas, I’ve learned that my presence with friends, and theirs with me, is the best gift that I can give, and the best one I can receive. 

And why shouldn't it be so when Jesus himself modeled this for us? He promised that if we love and obey him, his Father will love us, and they will come and make their home with us! This is not just the hope of one day being with them in heaven, but the beauty of their presence in my life today.