“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”
Ben and I both grew up in homes where family dinners were of high importance. Even though Ben’s father was often away on missionary trips and my parents often tended to responsibilities at our restaurant, family gathering was still a regular occurrence. At our restaurant, family meals tended to be at the side picnic table in our pizza establishment (to answer your question, yes pizza is still one of my faves). Having dinner together allowed our family time to visit, catch up, connect and laugh!
As Ben and I began raising our own family, we both felt strongly that this tradition would continue…at least try to continue. We both greatly value this time with our kids. Ben and I love to catch up with one another as well as our children’s lives, what they learned, how they helped someone, or what made them laugh! Gathering as a family with good food is truly one of my favorite things in life.
As our children grow older and life and activities crept in, our family dinners got few and far between. I found myself needing to be very intentional to schedule this time for the family, but still it didn’t seem regular enough. I couldn’t help feeling like so much connection was being lost, especially with my teens.
As current events progress and effect almost every area of our lives, I pray that we see the blessing in having “forced” family time. As the verse from Acts (above) states, the early church regularly ate together, and out of that came praise and enjoyment. As I sat at the dinner table last night and as the conversation began to cause mass laughter, I felt overwhelmed with joy. Even amid uncertainty, the Lord provided praise, enjoyment, and connection with the ones I hold most dear.
My prayer and encouragement for you during this time is to invest, encourage, connect and enjoy with the loved ones around your dinner table.
-Pastor Darcy Webster
Associate Pastor of Operations and Pastoral Care