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Dinner Time! When the shout rings out throughout the house everyone puts aside what they are doing and joins together around the table. Dinner Time is an important part of our week as a family!
Something incredible happens around the dinner table. It is a place to nourish not only our tummies but also our souls!
Gathering around the dinner table brings time for conversations, laughter and sharing. It is a safe place to unwind, vent, and talk freely. It is a place where the troubles and to do lists can fall away for just a little while.
Dinner time does not always mean a beautiful table with napkin rings, a centerpiece and coordinating tableware. Oftentimes it is paper plates and half the table covered in homework! The important part is that we take time to come together to share in a meal regardless of how the table looks. The same can be said for what is served. It might be a meal that took hours to prepare or maybe it was a simple call into the pizza delivery guy.
As parents of toddlers, dinnertime can hardly feel like its worth it when more time is spent debating the tasty merits of broccoli or why chicken is good for you. If its not that, then its oftentimes cleaning up spilled milk (and yes, sometimes it made us cry!) And always there are messy faces to be wiped clean. Dinner time with toddlers can be painful and exhausting and quick. Looking back now, I am thankful we went through the process and began at those young ages to teach the value in dinner time even when it wasn’t always a pretty sight to behold.
In the teen years dinner time becomes much more philosophical as questions and topics come forth that push us to deep conversations about God in the world, social justice, politics and the power of words. Things are said that might otherwise never come up or be passed over if we were not intentional in taking time out from evening activities and homework to be in conversation with each other. Let’s conversate! It is not a “real” word but it is one we have come to say often in our home.
Jesus often used meals to engage with people and teach important lessons. From tax collectors, to friends, to the poor and lost Jesus extended his fellowship to them.
Imagery for eternal glory with God is often seen as a lavish feast being prepared for us. It illustrates the abundant blessings that await us. Isaiah speaks about the truly epic party God is planning. Not only will it be a feast with the absolute most amazing food but the venue is on a mountain! Awesomeness!
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
Just like Jesus desires genuine fellowship with us, we can foster connections and form community with others over dinner. Dinner time unites us around a physical table that we gather around but God unites our hearts. A shared meal is a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Through dinner we can enjoy a sacred space where a meal and hospitality is shared and relationships with others are deepened.
At our table we hold hands as we pray. It began when the kids were little and we held their hands to keep those busy hands occupied while we prayed. Later on it continued, because it was tradition and the power of physical touch deepens our connection to each other. Praying before a meal aligns our hearts with God and invites him to the table. It is a time to remember and thank God for his blessing and provision.
In college when we gathered around a table to eat whether it be in a restaurant or someone’s apartment we put our hands on the table with thumbs up and the last to do so was the one to pray. I don’t know how it got started but it was a fun way that begin our time of dinner together. Starting dinner time with prayer is an important cornerstone because it invites God to be part of this time.
Our family doesn’t get to have dinner every night but we are willing to do what it take to make it happen most days during the week. This means sometimes eating early or late. Dinner time is valued in our home as we know and realize it is a cornerstone to living our best life. Lee Iacocca says it best when he says “The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family. ” Dinner time makes our family work!
After dinner time is done we are content. Many night we linger after the meal is over for a just a few extra minutes before we jump back into our busy schedules. This energy that has been created around the table as we eat, share and laugh brings us fulfillment and strength to go forward.
Kayla, we have talked about doing Face Time dinners once a week when you are off at college and I am so excited about that and thrilled you still want to be part of family dinner. I also know that you will have the opportunity to establish a new dinner time tradition with college friends. Find friends who are like family and start dinner time with them. Maybe its Sunday nights or maybe its a couple nights during the week. Maybe its a certain table in the cafeteria or a local college eatery. Establishing new traditions are important. Loneliness and isolation is a prevailing problem in college and my prayer is you will actively seek out and engage others that you can share life with and I hope that include Dinner Time!
Always remember your chair at the family dinner table is always here and ready for you!