Table Blessing

In the past year, Matt and I have been learning more and more about the biblical command of hospitality. As believers, we are to open our homes to others. The home is a wonderful place to minister and evangelize. It's been the desire of our hearts to practice hospitality more, even though we sometimes feel we can't possibly squeeze one more thing into our busy schedules.

As a manifestation of extending hospitality, it became obvious to both Matt and myself that we needed a bigger dining room table. Our dining room table has served us well the past fifteen years. We've had countless dinners around it and it's been a good table for us. However, now that our family is growing, we no longer have room for more than one or two extra people at our table.

When we moved into this house, Matt and I began to pray for a table. We came up with a list of qualifications that our new table must have. First and foremost, Matt decided it must have the capability of stretching to ten feet in length. I wanted a double pedestal style table so that we wouldn't have to worry about people legs getting tangled up in table legs. We also decided that the chairs should not be upholstered, as this would be a more practical choice with children.

Well, after months of scouring Craig's list, looking at what local stores had to offer and even considering having a table custom made, we finally found it! It was on Craig's list, a table with the qualifications described above and it came with eight (instead of six) chairs! We hemmed and hawed and prayed for about it for three weeks before we finally decided to buy it. Matt was afraid I would grow tired of the lighter oak wood and that I'd regret the purchase. However,when we finally went to see it in person, we were convinced it was the table for us and we brought it home.

We enjoyed our first meal around the table with our friends Brian and Julie on October 31, Reformation Day. Since then, we've celebrated our niece Raphaella's birthday and had my family down for a pre-concert dinner. My mother-in-law even gave me me my Christmas present early--a 140 inch long table cloth--so that I will be able to use it during the holidays.

A year ago, it seemed like such a greedy thing to me to pray for a bigger table. However, when our family attended a homeschool conference this past spring, the keynote speaker expressed how he and his family had prayed for a bigger table for their family. He told us that the Lord answered their prayer. My heart leaped when I heard him relate this to us. When the Lord plants a desire in our hearts, it's always a good desire. At that time, we didn't even have a dining room big enough to accommodate a ten foot long table, but my God isn't limited by such small things.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-18