Around the Table

Posted September 12, 2024 by Sarah Green

Categories: Featured, Popular Posts, Sarah, Sister Post

“What people are craving isn’t perfection. People aren’t longing to be impressed; they’re longing to feel like they are home.”

Shauna Niequist

I remember the first dining room table my husband and I purchased. The table didn’t have its hold on my heart quite yet, but we were an official family with a lovely dining space. Breaking bread, reading books, and countless conversations around our new abode became our regular life. We were growing our family around this vital space. Often, the table was a mess piled with books and papers. Yet, we always returned to the core of our home because it was the heart, the creative place where all gathered. I didn’t realize how much the table meant to me until many years later. It was easy to miss the beauty with messes and busy life swarming around me. 

Eventually, my husband and I saved cash to purchase a larger table—a twelve-seater (we have six kids). I remember the day perfectly as we picked up the long, rustic, beautiful table. My husband assumed we’d donate our first table. I immediately imagined all the memories, books, and stories shared. I could not let it go.

I said, “Let’s save it for the cabin we dreamed of purchasing one day.” He was reluctant, but it went to our basement as a game table for many years, eventually landing at our cabin home.

We now break bread, play games, and enjoy conversations around that table at our cabin.

Many homes no longer have traditional dining rooms. They’re replaced with a kitchen nook, a perfect location for a quick stop instead of long, slow meals. 

Sarah Green

The table is more than filling our tummies. Often, we treat it as a quick stop, handheld devices in tow, before moving on to more important things. Many homes no longer have traditional dining rooms. They’re replaced with a kitchen nook, a perfect location for a quick stop instead of long, slow meals. 

I am a realist, and my family is brimming with kid activities and sports, just like the rest of Generation Alpha. I’m in the middle of the struggle right with you. But God blesses our tiny efforts. Amid everyday messes, schedules, and chaos, it often doesn’t feel worth it. Brushing it all aside, requiring phones to be left behind, and making space for sacred time, beauty, and relationships is an act of courage. It’s worth it. 

We must not complicate things. That’s where Satan likes to chime in; “if it’s not just right or gourmet (on a school night, ha), we might as well forget it.” Every night won’t be as we imagine or hope, but we can plan for “around-the-table time” several mornings, afternoons, or evenings a week. Perfection is never the answer. Simplicity alongside the right heart and small steps will grow relationships and memories around the dining room table.

Every time we join as a family, we celebrate. Food becomes breaking bread. Messy tables become sacred spaces of beauty, and bickering kids become civilized. Conversations abound. Sally Clarkson, my favorite author on celebrating family life, says, “I believe we must celebrate because celebration is one of the most effective weapons we have against the darkness of our day.” The treasure of the table can’t be denied. Let’s light the candles, arrange the flowers, and prioritize time around the table.

When I think about the tables we’ve loved, I remember the babies, toddlers, and children, so many birthdays, tough conversations, endless laughter, scripture, and books read, and my heart fills with joy. I’ll swipe the clutter to the side and plan a few lovely meals around the table this week.

What does the dining room table mean to you?