Supper Table

Tonight Brenda, the boys, and me all gathered around the supper table. We ate good food and I cannot remember a time when we laughed more. We told funny stories on one another. Taylor had a crush on one of his childhood babysitters. He told Brenda he thought of her as his girl friend. Tanner tried to impress her when he got potty trained asking her to come watch him. He told us tonight, "I tried my hardest while she watched."

We laughed about stories too funny and too private to be shared here. It was one of those meals where I looked around the table and took a snapshot with my heart. Football season looms when the kids get in late from practices. In two months Taylor will be at Howard Payne, Lord willing, practicing and getting ready for the upcoming season.

I chuckled when Brenda made the kids eat turnip greens. They may not have enjoyed them but they got through it. Supper time has always been a special time for our family. Maybe we are a little old fashioned. We still try to eat at the table as much as possible. We talk about our day's activities, share the best part of our days, impart instruction, and laugh together. At one point every single member of the family laughed hysterically. Turner had tears in his eyes. Tanner had that huge smile and laugh that keeps us in stitches much of the time. Tucker made us laugh with a reference to a scene from Toy Story. Brenda smiled with that infectious smile with eyes squinted in laughter picking up on Tucker's and Tanner's joke. Taylor, the serious one, could not keep from cracking up too. I sat back and took it all in. Another special memory made and captured.

I know these days will not last forever. The boys are growing up. One by one they will leave the house, grow up, one day get married and have families of their own. There will be a day when it will just be Brenda and I at the table. There could even be a day when one of us is left to eat our meals alone after the other has gone on into eternity.

The supper table is nearly extinct in many homes. People gather around television trays watching movies or some sitcom. Many live so fast paced they order take out and wolf it down with little regard to the supper table.

Though my childhood had a few challenges I do recall with great fondness the supper table. I would play until my mother or someone else would call me home for supper. It was usually close to dark. Most of my growing up years we lived with my maternal grandparents. There were seven of us including my mother, brother, sister,  me and two grandparents. We ate fresh vegetables and food cooked from scratch. Those were special times.

Now I have a family of my own. Gathering around the supper table is a highlight of the day for all of us. A lot of ministry takes place around the supper table. Prayers are offered. Counsel is given. Bible instruction is imparted.  Burdens are shared. Love is freely given. Memories are made and shared. Food is consumed in large quantity. I would not trade for these special times around the supper table.

If you are alone and do not have family at home anymore you can still enjoy the supper table in two ways. You can invite Jesus to dinner and eat while praying and communing with Him. You can also invite others to share your supper table from time to time. Have them over for dinner. Share some laughter and make a few new memories. Share your heart and life with them.

If you still have family at home do not take them for granted. I know it is unrealistic to eat every meal at the table. People are busy. I still urge you make those times a high priority as often as you can. Sit back. Enjoy the conversation with those you love. Make some memories and imprint them on your heart and mind.