Years ago I learned an amazing lesson and gained wonderful friends in the process.

As a single mom I wasn’t considered to be on anybody’s “A” list in the church I was in. For holiday dinners there was a pecking order of who was chosen. The popular people were snapped up quickly and I observed there was a cohort of people who habitually weren’t invited and ended up spending the holiday meals alone in their apartments.

Being the rebel that I am, I refused to feel sorry that my daughter and I were part of the cohort who weren’t invited, so I decided to become a host and invite a few of the cohort into my home. Since I had a young daughter I chose to invite only women.

Some people expressed surprise to me that I would choose to invite the people I did into my home. I’m not sure what their concerns were based on, certainty no one was dangerous or crazy, just misunderstood or forgotten, because they were very shy.

Our meal times were filled with delicious food, laughter and joy! We formed wonderful friendships which carried past holiday dinners and into wonderful times we hung out together.

At first people seemed very surprised to hear we had wonderful dinners but they soon got used to seeing us all together. Over time, more people in the congregation took the time to get to know these wonderful women and great friendships were formed!

So, don’t be afraid to invite people you wouldn’t ordinarily spend time with, who knows, maybe you’ll make a new friend!!

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