Hospitality is a gift - you either have it, or you don't!

We just got home from a couple days away. Went to see some friends in Michigan - old friends from Moody. We hadn't seen them in 5 yrs, and were looking forward to it.
Hmm...how do I say this nicely? Hospitality - TRUE hospitality - is a gift, and not everyone has it. I understand more now why it's listed as a spiritual gift. I don't think it's the gift of this particular family.
We were supposed to stay until this morning...and ended up leaving Sunday morning instead. We would have left Sat night if it hadn't been dark already and we hadn't been unsure of how to find our way back through Detroit, since part of I-75 was closed! We apparently were "messing up their sleep schedules" - because we were up past 9:30 Friday night, and again Sat. Hmmm....let me get this straight...YOU asked US to come visit, and then proceed to make us feel like nothing but a huge burden and inconvenience?
Let me see...having people over IS an inconvenience...but it's one of those things in life that is considered a WELCOME inconvenience - usually! It's usually for a short period of time, and the issues it involves are fairly minor. Apparently not for these friends. We ended up leaving and driving back as far as Toledo, and getting a motel room. It was nice to have a/c that worked - ALL NIGHT...and it was nice to just be the 2 of us for a day or so. We had fun doing nothing much (which is what we did while visiting our friends, but apparently even that was too much of a disruption to their schedule).
It's made me more and more aware of and thankful for my mother's gift of hospitality and what she's taught me about making people feel genuinely welcome and comfortable in our home. If you come to visit us and DON'T feel that way - it honestly will be your own fault!

I don't know...I was just a bit flabbergasted, and I'll admit, offended, by the whole episode. We will NOT be going up there again - certainly never again for an overnight visit - and it will be a LONG time before we go up for a brief one, period. I'm also not making invitations on our end. We probably would not live up to the expectations...and I don't want the hassle.

Live and learn, I suppose. Some friendships are best left to email and cards!