The Table of Nourishment-A Powerful Place!
Laura Longville
Whether it’s your kitchen table, favorite restaurant, coffee shop, pub, picnic table, or lap…… that table creates and stirs deep emotions. The last two blog posts have talked about the table being a powerful place of connection, blessing, and sometimes brokenness.
Despite the woundedness we experience, God can redeem and bring blessings to those places of pain. As we surround ourselves with people at our tables who care and love us, we naturally begin to share hope and healing with others. We can be a blessing to others.
Just as Jesus invited angry, jealous, and selfish people to his last supper, we can invite people to our table. What is broken, hurtful, and damaging, God can repair, heal, and renew. Jesus was patient, open, and honest with his disciples. We can too.
He invites us to His table because he loves us deeply. He wants us to love him deeply and, out of the love, love one another.
As God healed me and helped me understand how much he loves me, I understood that he had equipped me to love as he does. Out of my table of woundedness, God brought a table of nourishment. He fed me and loved me, and now I can do the same for others.
The Table of Nourishment
We each have unique stories and gifts that we can share with one another. Out of your table stories, he equips you to bring hope and healing to others. As God works in and through you, he is nurturing, encouraging, and fostering a love for others.
Who can you invite to your table of nourishment? Who can you give “nutritious food” to? Who is God encouraging you to share a meal with? Who are you pouring into? Who are you loving well? Who are you training to live God’s way of life? Who can you share life with, encourage, or disciple?
There are many ways I have done this over the years. My table of nourishment has been through:
· friendships,
· my family,
· book and Bible studies
· role as a counselor
· role as a spiritual director
· hiking and biking groups
· the list is endless.
Who can you invite to your table of nourishment? Take a few minutes right now, and ask God to bring people you can invite to mind. Write them down. As you invite others to your table, remember God is at the table with you. God’s table is redemptive, restorative, and restful (we can recline with God).
He has equipped each of you uniquely. You can make a difference in someone’s life. It can be simple ways to love up on others. You can bring Him glory and hope to the world. Won’t you join him on this journey?
Take a simple step to invite those people on your list to your table of nourishment. Go for coffee or a beer, take a walk, call that friend you’ve been thinking about for a while, gather a few friends together for a meal, or do something kind for that special person.
Join God in loving others well. May you be a blessing.