I am thankful for my family's kitchen table. Truthfully, I have abused it over the years, especially with nail polish remover (mom was not very thankful about that!) It is missing a little finishing, but it still stands on four legs.
My family likes routine, so we all have the same seats at the table every night. Mom and I sit on the outside. I sit across from Dad and Mom sits across from David. And just like that routine, dinner is served around the same time each evening.
Growing up, I didn't always understand why dinner time was to be adhered to. All plans to hang out with friends were secondary. Dinnertime was dinnertime, and we sat down together.
But that daily fellowship with my family set a foundation for me. It was something the whole family shared together. Mom, Dad, David and I. It was where we sat and prayed together - prayers of thankfulness for the food we had; prayers of thankfulness for God's grace; prayers for guidance in our lives.
The dinner table was where we talked about each other's days. The dinner table was where we laughed a lot. There was a time growing up where it was extremely difficult to get through a meal without David or I spewing milk. We could make each other laugh so hard (sometimes it was even our parent's fault too) and at just the right moment. We're long past those days (kind of...)
Sitting around that table was more about the fellowship and less about the food. The night before Jesus dies on the cross, we are told that he shares a Passover meal with 12 of his good friends. Jesus probably could have done a lot of things before he was crucified. He could have enjoyed a fishing trip or hosted a larger, more festive gathering. However, he chose to share a meal with his disciples. That was important to him. He wanted to break bread with his brothers.
So I am thankful for our dinner table. Not for the table itself, but what I have learned there about family and fellowship. It is always important to share a meal with the people you love.
~SP
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