Our Daily Bread: We Are Family预览

Let’s Go Back to the Table

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. -Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV

A few years ago we built a rustic cedar table, with our children, for our patio. We have shared countless moments there with family and friends.

That table has witnessed deep conversations, nights of tears, a lot of laughter, and memories of our family legacy.

We built that table to create sacred moments and to remind us that this space is for communion and encountering the One we need to turn to so we can continue weaving our history together.

For centuries, sharing meals with family and friends has been one of the central family and social traditions for every culture. However, in recent times our increasingly busy, distracted, and hurried lives have diluted the richness of this practice.

The table gives a sense of belonging; it fosters dialogue and encounters. There, our children can learn the art of conversation and good habits, such as sharing, listening, taking turns speaking, expressing their ideas, navigating differences, and arguing without offending or taking offense.

In Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites to intentionally share their faith. He didn’t want the people to forget all that God had done for them, and He wanted them to pass these faith stories on to their children. God commanded them to talk about their faith at home, while traveling, when going to bed, and getting up (v. 7).

By constantly sharing God’s commandments, parents would “impress them” on their children’s hearts. By sharing stories of God’s faithfulness, parents would share their trust and faith in God. And these stories would become a part of their children’s lives too.

What better time to have faith conversations than when you’re at home as a family around the table? Like everything meaningful, sharing at the table demands intentionality.

Try to arrange your schedules to coincide and have at least one meal together daily. This ritual can shape your family’s identity and create great memories.

We encourage you to return to the dynamic of eating together as a family! Practice faith, teaching, and integrate prayer and reading Scripture into family routines.

Sergio & Carina Valerga

How many meals do you share as a family around the table during the week? What changes, however small, could you make to have more quality family time around the dinner table?

Loving God, help us seek spaces to meet at the table to deepen our family relationships with You.