Our Kitchen Table

This is a picture of the kitchen table in our home. It probably doesn’t look very special. That’s because it isn’t - it's just a well-used, country-style kitchen table that we bought 10+ years ago on Craigslist.

This table has a lot of bumps and marks and scrapes. The burn marks (from hot corn-on-the-cob on a paper plate), the pencil and pen marks (pressed w/ countless drawings and homework assignments from our kids), the dents (from dropped toys, Lego projects, and who knows what else), they all make this table look very well-used.

But this table also has much to tell about our family and those in our life. This is the table where …

… We’ve sat w/ life-long friends over a good meal, welcoming home a good friend.

… Each Sunday night Andria and I plan out our week ahead.

… We’ve played many a game of cards (usually 500, or Uno) and board games (kid favs are Monopoly, Clue, and Battleship).?

… Andria told me she was pregnant w/ our fourth child (Asher). Good thing I was sitting down for that one!

… I wept after one of our three miscarriages.

… We celebrate birthdays w/ family and friends, eating cake, pie, ice cream and all the treats.

… My dad told our family he had to go to Mayo Clinic for cancer treatment (again).

… Andria and I (occasionally) finish off a late-night delicious DQ blizzard treat.

… We complete our Bible Study Fellowship lessons each week.

… Our kids do their homework, projects, bible study, and more.

… We filled out ‘thank you’ cards for gifts/memorials after dad’s funeral.

… We’ve laughed so hard we’ve cried telling old stories w/ dear friends.

… We plan our annual family vacation, imagining where the next adventure should happen.

… We prioritize having supper as a family at least 5 times a week (though as the kids get older, this gets harder to do), talking about our day and taking turns answering the rotating “table question.”

… We have prayed for the meaningful relationships in our life, for our family, for our community, for our church, and for our world.

… We pass along our faith in Jesus Christ to our kids. There is no greater calling.

Yeah, as I think more about it, this table is special to us. It represents the connection between our joys and sorrows, our hard work and planning, our fun times and our painful moments, our wins and our losses, our family traditions and celebrations, and the questions we ponder. It also is where we talk about the truths we believe in, and which set our hearts on fire. So, while it’s perhaps just a “prop” in our story, it helps me recall the significance of our big and small moments. All of which make me very grateful, hopeful, and filled w/ gratitude.

Now, for you, if you are still reading … what is yet to unfold around your table? Some of those moments you can choose, some will come to you without question or want. My prayer is you are ready for what awaits.

(This is the same post I sent on FB a while back, but never published on LI until now)

#gratitude #familymemories #ourtablememories #familylife