Invite a friend to our community.
As I prep for my 60-day run, I thought I’d share some of my favorites. Have a beautiful day!<><
“The stories I hear fill me with joy and heartache. Secrets I keep, shared from hearts open or broken. I have stains from tears of laughter and pain. I am your confidant, and I draw you closer to others.”
I am the Table.
It sits 16 feet long, made of oak or pine, with 20 chairs. It’s the heart of the room—the pulse of activity. Many sit at it. Some visit often. Others have visited once or twice. As it ages, so have its visitors. Part of their growth is because of the table. The laughter, tears, stories, meals, games, and memories created in those seats forge a part of who they are - because they sat at the table.
When I visit VT on summer vacation, the home is alive because the table is its heart. It is where we gather. Talk. Dine. Entertain. I notice tables now wherever I travel. I seek others, hoping to find the same aura in different places, offering the same warm moments as shared in East Burke.
I long for time at a table. Picnic table, bar table, restaurant, book store, coffee shop, outdoor patio. Any place to sit across from one or among many. The buzz of ideas, opinions, sarcasm — learning new things about different people – connects us. We are united, tethered to the wood, a current of connectivity touching our fingers and palms, and we are a group of many sitting as one.
Before electronics, the table had more clout. It was a gathering place for inspired conversations, sharing stories, mentorship, parenting, and revealing hopes of freedom and independence where people sought guidance sharing dreams. It taught respect and manners. Encouraged polite discourse. Occasionally sparked emotional outbursts, but it always brought individuals together.
It is now an underappreciated piece of furniture.
I remember it as a place teaching me how to communicate. Form friendships. Water budding love. It’s been a lifeboat guiding Alex through rolling rapids or quiet waters. It’s where I opened up to others, sharing and listening - a place to break bread, share wine.
Tables are everywhere –often overlooked. Dirty and lonely or well-visited and worn. They are privy to private conversations and the lives of others – passengers in their seats.
I know we are connected when people sit with me at a table.
At home, when we moved to a bigger house, I made sure I had a place for my table - inspired by VT. A longer one in the center of the home, close to the outside, where I put another piece of handcrafted wood. The table is where we dream. We celebrate others. We cry together, hold hands, pass food, toast to one another, and pray, more importantly.
We gather at tables for reflection, love, joy, and hope. We have fellowship. In our life, every table we sit at brings something to our life. Take the time to sit there, feel the energy of it, and see who sits with you.
What tables sit in your memories?
Why?
Share one?
Until our next post, be safe, be kind, give grace, and pray. Our world needs our prayers. Thank you for reading Ponder This.
I loved this the first time I read it and I love it even more now. I have had the honor and privilege of being a guest at each table and grew as a person each time. I love the camaraderie and fellowship of a table of people sharing stories and love. I wish everyone had a table of life to share with their friends nd loved ones.
One of my faves