Come To The Table
Friends, welcome to the table!
You are invited here to join in the feast and into the community. This summer series of sharing stories will encourage those who may be desiring clarity. Or perhaps some of you are so deep into a thousand baseball games and volleyball practices you haven’t even realized how far you’ve drifted. And regardless of how unfulfilled your plan may seem, waking up each morning with the same agenda, you long to be still and know that He is God. Or, maybe you are simply waiting. Our hope is that your time here at this table, as an invited guest, will fill and nourish as reminder of God’s love for you, your family, and the vulnerable children both known and unknown in this present moment.
The idea of this table is not a new one—I’ve carried this picture since childhood. When my little sister first came home from China as a baby, an image was formed in my mind of a table—a long, wooden table with benches reaching far on both sides. That table was filled with colorful faces and there was no end to the number of children who could squeeze onto those benches to share in the feast, in that family. That family, I believe, is God’s design for my future.
But I know that I am not the only one with an extended table in my future. There are countless tables like this already. Maybe yours is one of them–no empty seats left. Or maybe your table is small. Maybe there are several chairs waiting to be used–or used again. Whether your table is small and round or large and long, its design was not an accident. Your table was designed by God with purpose and vision. Whether that means having room for Sunday lunch guests, or adding four new children to your home permanently, your table is yours for reason.
But even bigger than the purpose God has set for your home and your table, God has invited you in to be a guest at His table. He has reached down and called you to linger at the table He has prepared for you. We can see from the way Jesus met with His disciples around the table, and at the feasts of God’s Old Testament kings, the table is a place very carefully designed and intentional in purpose.
So here, let us be intentional, as well. The stories you will read in the coming weeks will be windows into many different lives—some experiencing more hardships and some knowing much change, but all with one very important thing in common—God’s faithfulness to write a story spilling over with purpose, and the promise that He will recycle even the most devastating moment for our good, for His glory.
So come to our table. Squeeze in, friends. Be encouraged! As we entertain various perspectives on hospitality and drink in the encouragement from our community, we hope you are stirred. Be reminded of the real-life applications where we find sustenance—His love for us, for you, and our calling to pour out love in response to what has been poured out over us.
Meet Lydia Blair, our Promise686 Summer Intern! Lydia comes to family advocacy ministry by way of adoption as a bio sister to three adopted siblings, as well as growing up in a church fully engaged in orphan care. Lydia, a natural "child-whisperer," is presently a senior at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia, majoring in Education. We think her future students will be incredibly blessed to have her as their teacher, as we are to have her as our intern.
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