This is the fifth in a series of reflections offered as part of my service with the Stewardship Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., where Anne and I are members.

Over the past several weeks, Anne and I have been blessed to welcome my parents, who came from Pennsylvania for a visit, and Tara and Dennis, Anne’s daughter and our son-in-law, who rested with us while moving from Portland, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts. We’re looking forward to a visit from relatives from western Nebraska and from Kansas in the coming weeks.

We would always count the gift of family as the greatest blessings, next to the faith we receive as a gift from God. What strikes us is how focused we become on preparing for these visits. We want our lawn to be cut, the flowers watered, the beds to be free of weeds, the house clean, the groceries purchased, the guest bedrooms ready, and our schedules arranged to help us make the most of our time with them.

The priority we place on these preparations reminds us, too, that God desires for us to treasure our time with him with at least as much intensity as we devote to family. He doesn’t live far away and come to visit only on occasion. Instead, he invites us to come to his home each week for worship, to gather around his table for fellowship, and to reminisce about our family history in Bible reading and education.

This all sounds like every other ministry of our congregation except stewardship. But really, the ways we devote ourselves, our time, our efforts, and our possessions in response to God’s grace in our lives are all signs of how we practice stewardship of the gifts we have received from him. Our response to God’s hospitality is simply our stewardship of the blessings he has given to us.