In my experience, one of the most important tools in the parenting toolbox is the dining room table. The table is the place in our busy, modern lives where we can gather together for a meal, conversation, and maybe, once the dishes are cleared, a place to play a game together.
In other words, the family table gives us a place to connect. Age really doesn’t matter. Everyone from toddler to the elderly can enjoy the benefits of re-establishing familial connections at the family table.
Gathering for a meal as a social unit is probably one of the oldest communal acts of man; it is one of those traditions that define us as human beings. Through sharing of a meal we establish a link between the members of the group and we share our commonality and learn to accept our differences. Pretty heady stuff, right? It’s important and heady stuff that emphasizes the importance of the family table.
Life is a whirlwind. We are busy, maybe/probably too busy for our own good. It’s difficult to find the time and the precise schedule coordination it takes to get a modern family together at the dining room table.
Believe me, it is worth any effort to accomplish this, even if it is only one or two times a week. Even if it is carry-out pizza or burgers, it makes no difference, bring it to the table. This incredible power of reconnecting rewards long after the plates are emptied, cleaned and put away.
The family table is the altar of our domestic church. It represents the central place in our religious communities where we come together to share God’s Eucharistic meal, and connect as part of the family of Christ.
We carry the imprint of our own family with us after we leave the family table time in our own homes and the same thing happens at church. God and His Grace stay with us when we leave the altar and go our separate ways into our separate lives. That is a very good feeling.
When we take the time to sit down at the family table in a communal activity, we reconnect with those we love. The same holds true at Mass. The Lord calls us to the table where we communicate, we feast, and we reconnect with Him.
Around the table and around the altar, we reinforce the knowledge someone’s got our back. We remind ourselves someone is behind us every step of the way. We are wrapped in the community of Christ’s love.
So make the calls, ring the bell, and clean the papers, mail, and/or craft projects from the table.
It’s DINNER TIME!
Copyright © 2013, Mike Hays
Mike Hays
Mike Hays is a husband, a father of three, a lifelong Kansan and works as a molecular microbiologist. Besides writing, he has been a high school strength and conditioning coach, a football coach and a baseball coach. His debut middle grade historical fiction novel, THE YOUNGER DAYS, is a 2012 recipient of The Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval Award. You can find it at the publisher's website or on Amazon.
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