God’s Bountiful Table
Our kitchen table is a central part of our family, serving more than just meals with its purpose. Guests are honored here. Parenting occurs here. Friends connect over coffee here. Family members intertwine and enfold here. Homework is learned, bills are paid, opinions are shared, books are read, writing is released here. Tears are shed, laughter is shared–life’s richness of relationships is created at our kitchen table.
I’ve had on my list for a long time now, a kitchen table that fits. With gratitude for the current one, my eyes have been open for the “real” one that is coming. Although we haven’t met, I’d know it anywhere: wood, rectangular, sturdy corner legs, solid, large opening up to even larger.
It’s good to dream! Live boldly, create wildly, embrace gratitude yet decline complacency. Envision great things for yourself, and then go manifest it!
God’s vision for you is much greater than you can ever imagine for yourself. (And I know you can imagine pretty darn greatly!) Accept this Truth, and honor your spirit with this gift.
I accidentally (!) found a furniture store with a Magic Back Room of scratch & dent pieces, sold as-is. Their main feature is $79 dinner tables—of course. Being out of town, I spoke on the phone with a very helpful gentleman who replied that they have a table that fit my description—and he gave me its name so I could find an example of a new one online. It looked perfect! Excitedly my husband and I (okay, mostly me but he was on board) drove out the next week.
Standing over the table, it was everything I envisioned! Inspecting the scratches and dents, I accepted its condition and was already mentally placing it in our vehicle when suddenly—my husband lowered the boom and emphatically declined the table. He noted that it was not solid wood, and the particle board/veneer construction was not something he could live with.
“This one is a definite No…” Even as my spirits plummeted, I agreed with him wholeheartedly. However, in the same breath he gestured to the table behind him: “…but what do you think about this one?”
Oh. My. God.
Hesitantly, I stepped over to it, marveling at its beauty. Its shape, lines, and deep color were actually humming. With my sweetie noting its solid wood construction, we further investigated its potential. Going from size larger to ginormous, it had even greater capacity than I thought possible. There was only one minor blemish to be found, we had to look hard to find why it was in the scratch & dent selection.
This wasn’t the table of my dreams—it was greater than my imagination. It came home with us that day and now enhances our lives with its grace.
This table embodies God’s bounty. I dreamed big, He dreamed bigger for me. I had a preconceived idea of what would appear, He presented it in a different package. It reminds me to do my part in life, yet remain open to what God can do for me—and then let Him. We each have a reserved chair at His table, we just must accept the seat.
Thank you God, for your bountiful blessings. And for my allowing of them. Amen.
photo by gina drellack
gina drellack 