There are days that dinner around the table is the only time my family has to check in and connect with each other. Between work, errands, after school sports and electives, our lives become so full of commitment outside the family, that we can easily forget what is truly important. Family is my highest focus as a stay at home mom. My work is the art of family living; and the evening supper is imperative to a strong family. It is over home cooked meals that we join hands and pray to God, share about our day, seek help in solving problems, share jokes and entertaining stories, and pass on wisdom that will carry on in our son’s life after we are gone. Eating together creates lasting memories and a tradition that gives meaning to all of the hard work this life demands of us.

This wasn’t the original topic I had planned to write about today, but given all of the sadness and tragedy in the news recently, I felt it in my heart to share this discipline that unites and heals. I am so blessed to have my small family to eat with every evening. If you are a student in the dorms, a widow alone, a single person with no children, a young person on their own who hasn’t started their family yet and the list goes on; seek out you dinner companions! Go to the weekly meal at your church or find a church to go eat at, take a meal to your neighbor and share it together, young single people invite your friends over and cook with one another. There is power in this practice, I promise you! I know there is a problem in the world right now where people are having a hard time talking to others who don’t believe the same way as they do. An idea has formed that we can only befriend people with the same religious and political views as our own. Many hide behind technology and have become rusty with their social skills and become anxious when they need to speak with someone in person. This is sad and not healthy for society. Bringing back the family dinner is a great way to practice face to face conversation and how to be civil even when sharing opposing views.

Parents, I challenge you to work around those sports practices. I hear all the time that families aren’t eating together for this reason. There are two nights a week that my family has to eat at a very early time so that we can make it to karate lessons. Yes, we are all starting to get hungry again before bedtime and so we will eat a hearty snack, but it is worth the early dinner time so that we can can come together to pray and check in with each other.

I also implore you to break the habit of watching television during dinner if this is something you have fallen into. A meal together is a chance to discover where your help is needed. Hone your listening skills and seek out the places your devotion to your family, friends and neighbors is needed. If you are plugged into the tv you will miss the joy of being present with the flavors of your food and the personalities of your companions!

I hope that this post has sparked something inside you. If family dinner is already a rock solid part of your schedule, maybe you can start to open your home to hosting friends and neighbors a few times a year. It is my personal belief that the best way to be a part in bringing people to know Jesus is through example. Open your door and set the table and let’s show others the community of Christ which begins with our own family.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. ” Matthew 18:20