the detailed hospitality of l'abri

I imagine most people, like me, have felt the desire at some point in life to take time out to really rest... in every sense of the word. To feel no guilt in taking the time for quiet reflection. To consider what you are living for and what you really believe in the deepest part of you. Rarely is this yearning able to be realized, for we are always in the middle of a million things, and people need us and school and work calls us to continue plugging away at our lives at a faster pace. L'abri fellowship, a shelter for weary souls situated in the Swiss Alps, provides those who come with a unique opportunity to rest and reflect, and the atmosphere there is a large part of l'abri's ability to facilitate such rest. I am so thankful for the few months I spent at l'abri last fall, and I often remember those months with an impossible wish to be instantly transported back to that place and time. I won't for a moment pretend that 35 people living in one chalet isn't often loud with bursts of laughter and ping pong tournaments and hectic with meals for hungry 20-somethings involving pots of soup so big you could drown in them and 7 loaves of homemade bread. Yet, even with the hectic times there exists at l'abri a feeling that sitting and reading for several hours if desired is entirely appropriate and not at all a waste of one's time. Or that spending an evening knitting and listening to someone read aloud is a perfect idea, or that stopping for long, meaningful conversations during the day should occur regularly. In fact, though in our day to day lives we often experience guilty feelings for indulging in what may not be "official" important work, l'abri makes activities like sitting and talking with friends while sharing nibbles on a bar of chocolate seem like one's calling.

I think this aspect of life at l'abri is brought about partly by the way small things are given attention. This shows that nothing is too insignificant to deserve our time and effort. When I first arrived, weary from a long flight and a gorgeous train ride that forced my sleepy eyes to stay open, I was shown where I would sleep and I was struck with the neatly made bed I was directed to with a towel folded on the foot of it with a small piece of swiss chocolate on top of that. Someone had taken the time to prepare for my coming, and I felt welcome because of their effort. As I made my way into the main gathering room at l'abri, I was invited to join the other students for tea time, which i soon learned was a twice daily occurance. No matter how much work there was to be done, at 11:00 am and 4:30 pm, hot tea (black and herbal) with milk, sugar and cookies on the side, was served on a little cart which was wheeled out of the kitchen. Whoever was on work duty gathered at Chalet Bellevue to relax for 1/2 an hour. A ping-pong game often followed tea, and usually someone picked up a guitar to strum a little or sat at the piano to play. This first tea time immediately struck me as something to note for my future...something to include in my own life own day.

One of the first meals I helped prepare at l'abri was memorable because of the details involved. Every evening meal involved candles lit and the table set just so, but this late september evening we finished preparing the food early, so my friend merrie and i were sent on the important mission of collecting wildflowers for the table. As we hiked along the small roads and trails alongside the steep cow pastures, listening to the tinkering of cow bells and carefully searching for the last few flowers before the frost, I felt that there was nothing more pressing to be doing, nothing more urgent or significant than gracing the table with flowers. I imagined that Edith Schaeffer would have done just the same thing when she was there managing the meals. I believe that Edith largely created this atmosphere at l'abri of detailed hospitality, which most importantly involved caring about individual people. This is true hospitality. No matter what material things are able to be offered to a friend or stranger, a listening, caring ear and a loving word is what we all need most. L'abri managed to provide both listening ears and an atmosphere where beauty was valued, and for that i am thankful and inspired to do the same.