Hospitality

Riding my Onewheel has become part of my daily routine and my current riding “streak” is 343 consecutive days. It is, for the most part, a healthy obsession…something that I absolutely love doing every day. This time last week I really only knew other “riders” through social media but last weekend I attended a Onewheel Festival in Raleigh, NC and I met many really great folks there.

When people gather around something that they all have in common they create community.  Communities can be really good and they can also be quite destructive.  As I began to explore the Onewheel community beyond social media I really didn’t know what to expect.

The crew of riders in Raleigh have one of the best cultures of hospitality that I have seen in a long time.  I felt welcome from the moment I arrived and people really went above and beyond to make sure that everyone was having a good time the entire weekend.  There was no need for “fitting in” because  all were honestly welcome and all were instantly accepted.  

True hospitality stems from a place of radical acceptance—when someone literally has to do nothing to prove their value to you.  If you search for God’s Kingdom then this is the starting point.  If your heart and mind are not in this place, it will be difficult to see all that God is ready to reveal.  

Jesus sets the table for His community this way:

‘If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do. “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” ‘ John 13:14-15,34-35