(I don't even remember what all was in this meal from our vacation, but it probably was not the healthiest choice :-)
19,710......the number of meals you could have with your child before they turn 18. Even if you don't count some meals due to summer camp, sleep overs or weekends at grandma's, that still leaves you in the thousands. Thousands of opportunities to invest in that life. Over the years, how many life changing decisions, battles won, hearts encouraged, or wisdom shared has happened over a cup of coffee or a shared meal. Food brings people together, unites us in a common activity, then invites us to share our experiences in that safe (ideally) space.
In her book, The Life Giving Table, Sally Clarkson challenges us to use meal times and coffee times with intentionality. The power of the right word combined with the comfort of a good meal or hot drink warms both the body and spirit, and provides a sense of hope. The camaraderie developed over frequently shared meals knits people together in bonds that can be closer than family.
I love how in The Life Giving Table, Sally made it clear that to be memorable, a meal does not need to be elaborate. Currently some of my daughter's favorite moments are eating her cheerios and raisins in the morning while I read to her, and getting cheese burgers with dad. Hopefully, when she is grown she will treasure her memories of cheese burger dates with dad when she was a kid. She already looks forward each week to when I'm gone to study, and she gets to watch a movie with dad and eat 'cokcorn' (popcorn). She loves making it with him, but never really eats it. :-) Cheery Coke is our drink of celebration and survival. When we got engaged, his cover up errand was for us to get Cherry Coke. Cherry Coke was also bought ahead of time, and packed into the hospital bag to wait for the arrival of our firstborn. It is also our drink of choice when we feel we have fought the long hard battle of the toddler 'will' that day, and require extra strength to finish.
The key is to be intentional with the time we are given and opportunities presented to us to be a blessing in the lives of those around us. That invitation to dinner, cool drink on a warm summer day, or hot coffee might be the key to creating a safe place for someone to open up about the deep things. Giving them the invitation lets them know they are valued and their voice in the world is welcome.
This book is not a quick read. Rather it goes indepth into Biblical celebrations that happened over a meal, and how Jesus used food and drink to reach people where they were. It also provides plenty of opportunity for soul searching as she leads you through seeing how being intentional with people looks like in different seasons. Sally shares stories and personal testimony of being intentional during the season of small children through her friendships with her now adult children. She also shares how being intentional with invitations blessed her in return during seasons spent in new communities and during times where she needed the invitation herself.
Life passes so quickly, and it was never meant to spend alone. We are given the opportunity to breath the breath of spring into the winter of someone's situation, and they in turn to ours. I look forward to studying the book more closely to see how I can implement some of the principles. Start simple. Perhaps instead of quickly handing out the afternoon snack to a child, it involves sitting down to share it with him/her. And just...being.
I was given a copy of this book for review purposes by Tyndale Publishing Company, but the viewpoints are entirely mine. When given the opportunity to read this book, I jumped on it as I have heard so many good things about Sally Clarkson's writing.
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