This blessing is for you —
for when you gather at the table
for breakfast on the go
and dinner after practice and games
for starting the science fair project
finishing homework
and family meetings.
This blessing invites you
to be fed as you feed others
to pull up a chair
and make room for one more.
This blessing gives thanks
for baby purees
first bites of avocado and eggs
for grilled cheese and quesadillas (again)
homemade food and take out
boxes of pizza, corn dogs, and chicken nuggets
for produce from the garden
and fresh-baked bread delivered from a neighbor.
This blessing comes whether you’re using the fine china or paper plates
and doesn’t care how you dress (or how much mail is piled in a corner)
this blessing seeps down into the nooks and crannies of the table
the crumbs left from yesterday and the spilled milk from this morning.
This blessing knows some days are rushed
and some nights are meant for long conversations.
It’s at the table where highs and lows are shared
school days are recounted
family vacations planned
prayers are spoken
forgiveness is offered and received.
This blessing knows the future of this table
the children who will return again and again
with new relationships and new experiences
with wonder and awe at the world beyond this home
this blessing knows the table loves to expand.
This blessing says
“Welcome”
there will always be a space for you
eat and be fed
sit and rest.
This blessing is for you
in the coffee and crumbs
the gifts of your life
a feast, for all, of gratitude.
Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is a mother, writer, and pastor living in Central Missouri with her family. Her first book, The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years will be released next March. You can read more at her website: Kimberlyknowlezeller.com. If you’d like to read more from Kim, you can sign up for her monthly newsletter, Walk and Talk here. As a gift to her readers and subscribers who sign up, she has a free downloadable resource: Walk and Talk with God: Reflection, Scripture references, and a how-to for your own contemplative walk.
