Our Daily Bread

I am looking at our dining table as I write this, wondering where it all went wrong. As opposed to most modern families, we use our formal dining room. A lot. Only, we don't use it as a place to eat. Yes, we do have a eat in kitchen area, but we decided shortly before having our daughter that we needed that space for toys. Our kids' rooms are a little small (or our kids have too much stuff, take your pick), and we have one big family room for the overflow. I LOVE our formal dining room suite, and our kitchen furniture was kind of worn, so we decided to store the kitchen table and chairs. (I promise I am getting to the point!).

The only problem is that our formal dining room isn't really a room, it is just an offshoot of our family room, and actually, it's the first thing you encounter when you walk through our front door. Our hall table quickly filled to overflowing, so our dining room table is the catchall. It currently contains items like my computer, the tray from our daughter's high chair, a home made give thanks candle made out of beans, toddler crayons, mail/magazines, about 130 baby shower invitations (stuffed but not stamped), a phone book, a hanger, a large binder of sheet music, I could go on....

When we got married, I had such plans for keeping family meal sacred. I kept china and crystal on the table (because what's the point in having it if you aren't going to use it?). Realistically speaking, with Mike's pastoral schedule, we sat down to eat a home cooked dinner around four nights a week, but hey, it was quality time! Even the two years we spent in our apartment, where the table was two feet from the open galley kitchen entry, we had meals at our little four seater table. Moving into this place after that was like moving to a palace. So why has the peripheral aspects of our life supplanted the most important parts? Because I have let them! Slowly, sneakily, aided and abetted by a busy life, copious amounts of mail, and two very active kids, my dining room table- the hub of our household- has become a mountain of insignificance. As I was sitting in Sunday school today listening to the discussion on communion and the history and meaning of breaking bread together, I realized that today is the day that I TAKE BACK MY TABLE! And begin using it as God intended...as a way to strengthen one of the most important aspects of my life.

Now, I also realized today that realistically speaking, family dinners are rarely going to happen. We are all going separate directions at any given time. So what to do? Well, who says we can only sit down together for dinner? We are all usually here for breakfast! And even though Mike doesn't usually eat breakfast, he can sit with us, visit, and drink a mini coke :). For this I am willing to sacrifice getting up a little early so that I can have the kids dressed and ready for breakfast. Who knows, maybe we won't be so late for school either! I know this doesn't sound like a huge lifestyle change, but this may be a little think that can make a big difference. Try looking for some life changing little thing to tweak in your life!