Come, there is a seat for you here.
Holly Hunter
Trinity Anglican,
Lafayette, LA
All the darkness in the world could not extinguish the light of a single candle. St Francis of Assisi
When my husband and I were married, my dad gifted us a dining room table. He collected the pieces from an old barn and crafted it together to create a space that we could gather around. (I’m pretty sure we may have had our first argument as newlyweds at that table.) Since we were married, nearly 15 years ago, we have moved six times and the table is one item that has always traveled with us.
It was at that table that we told friends we were expecting a baby. It was at that table that we invited a single mom and her children to come in from a snowy night. We have celebrated engagements, pregnancies and graduations at that table. We have seated friends who love the Lord and pour over the scripture with us, as well as others that are opposed to the Gospel and still have a desire to be heard. It is has been a place of weeping and a place of laughter.
This table is where our family gathers for three meals a day. We read scripture. We’ve shared countless tea times and morning prayers. Our children are accustomed to say to anyone that walks in our doors, they meet at the playground, or we see in need, “Do you want to sit at our table?” It’s a place that the some of the sacred parts of our faith meet the every day needs we have as humans. It is a place that we can say to anyone that our paths cross, “Come, there is a seat for you here. We can offer you a warm meal and tell you of a great hope. No matter the season, no matter the story, this is where you belong.”
Our dining room table is the launching pad to help draw people to Christ’s table. It is a place that brings healing to deep wounds, offers a hope that passes understanding, and food that doesn’t leave you hungry.
Holly Hunter, Trinity Anglican, Lafayette, LA
