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Sunday, January 5, 2014

All Have a Place at the Table



As a kid, what were mealtimes like in your family? Where did everyone sit around the table? What behavior was not allowed? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1382).






It cannot be underestimated the importance of daily mealtimes at our family table. First off, everyone had a place at the table. Everyone was accepted. Everyone was accountable. Everyone could contribute. I do not, of course, say equally. Father sat at the head of the table with mother at the balancing place of power on the opposite side. We children sat with my elder brother closest to daddy and I closest to mother. Mealtimes were a time of affirmation and stability no matter what curves otherwise were being thrown at us. It was a time of enjoyment, regularity, and reliability. It is telling to realize that if I could recall a family occasion to relive, I would choose a mealtime hands-down—any mealtime. It was then palpably evident that we were blessed as a family unit—and each one individually. I often find myself wishing that these qualities possible in the family unit could be enjoyed more widely in society.





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