As
a kid, what were mealtimes like in your family? Where did everyone
sit around the table? What behavior was not allowed? (Serendipity
Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1382).
It
cannot be underestimated the importance of daily mealtimes at our
family table. First off, everyone had a place at the table.
Everyone was accepted. Everyone was accountable. Everyone could
contribute. I do not, of course, say equally. Father sat at the
head of the table with mother at the balancing place of power on the
opposite side. We children sat with my elder brother closest to
daddy and I closest to mother. Mealtimes were a time of affirmation
and stability no matter what curves otherwise were being thrown at
us. It was a time of enjoyment, regularity, and reliability. It is
telling to realize that if I could recall a family occasion to
relive, I would choose a mealtime hands-down—any mealtime. It was then palpably evident that we were blessed as a family
unit—and each one individually. I often find myself wishing that
these qualities possible in the family unit could be enjoyed more
widely in society.
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