When my parents come to visit, I tend to wake up early to the smell of fresh brewed coffee that my father so generously makes and to find both of my parents sitting at the table. Before the day begins, we gather around the table with warm mugs and a glass of juice in hand to be present with one another. We end the day in a similar way as to how we started the day out – being present together around the table.

The table is a special place in my family – a place where we share meals, have long talks over cups of coffee (for some it is soda, juice, or water), experience the delight of laughter, share stories, listen to understand each other, encourage each other with wisdom, extend compassion and grace to one another as we endure the challenges of life, and share in the joys of life together.

I always look forward to times at the table, knowing that during the conversation time I’ll be met with love and understanding. The relationship that has been created between my parents and I is one of love, trust, grace, compassion, and accountability. As we sit at the table, I often feel that there is an unspoken and sometimes spoken exchange of vulnerability, support, and love.

I often imagine that this is the kind of relationship God wants to have with us. One where God invites us to the table where He looks forward to and awaits us to join Him and for us to awaken to His offering of unconditional love and connection. Right there in an everyday moment, the Lord delights in the exchange of stories, speaking wisdom into our hearts and minds, extending comfort, protecting us through the storms of life, and offering us the fullness of his unconditional love and grace.

Sometimes amid all the busyness of life – the many activities we juggle – it is easy to get caught up in it all. At times, it can be easy to forget that at the heart of it all, God just wants to be in relationship with us. He wants us to draw near to Him, rest in Him, and find peace in and through Him, so that we might live fully abundant lives in Him – lives that radiate His love and grace into the world.

Are there times in your daily life that you set aside time to invite God to connect with and engage with you? If not, how might you create space and time in your life to do so? If you do, what might you need to continue to be more present and aware of God’s presence and voice in your life?

Our Lord invites us to the table, into relationship with Him, and to come just as we are whether we are filled with gratitude and joy or amid the mess of life with all our challenges and needs. You do not need to set the table, to prepare, or to clean up at this table, but just come and be in the presence of the Lord.

“Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here.”

In Christ's love,

Pastor Jenn