Meet me at the table

“I’m ready to go home and back to school where we don’t see each other 24/7 but only at dinner.” 

This is what my 12 year old daughter said to me about 5 days into our Orlando trip.  Who can blame her?  We had been to Disney World (Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios).  We had also been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and Aquatica and Wet and Wild.  This was the whirlwind tour of Orlando led by my husband who had a plan to get us on every thrill ride within 30 miles.  We were exhausted. 

Her statement made me chuckle…isn’t that the truth of relationships?  I love you but 24/7 is a little much.  This is why many happy marriages thrive because of separate his and her bathrooms.  This is why we redid our basement.  We wanted the kids to have a place to go so we could be alone upstairs.  Yes, we love them but too much togetherness can often just be too much. 

I did love that she recognized we see each other at dinner.  I have tried to make dinner time family time in our house.  I don’t always succeed but most nights, we have dinner together.  It may be hot dogs or macaroni and cheese but we are together.  The fact that she acknowledged dinner time as together time says many things to me as a mom…she relies on that time, she appreciates that time, she knows that whatever else is going on, she can count on dinner with the family. 

All of this makes me think of our relationship with Jesus.  Often, we are too busy or too tired to be with Jesus 24/7.  We find it difficult to constantly be in a state of prayer or thanksgiving.  We can’t read the Bible all the time.  Our faith is important to us but as my husband put it not so lightly, “It can’t be JC 24/7!”  We find pious people who constantly talk about their faith tiresome and judgmental.  We want to have some fun!

My daughter knows that she can have access to her family when she wants us or needs us.  We will always be there for her.  As her parents, my husband and I see this as a blessing.  She can go out into the world to experience life and she will always have a home, a place to feel safe and regroup and know love.  Our heavenly Father must want us to know this too, we are never alone… Jesus is waiting for us at the table.