Big Family Dinners
My brother called me this morning from New Zealand.
I love my brothers, and I love whenever we get to chat. Chris and his wife Ruth are expecting their fourth baby this year. They married at 20 and have filled their home with the most beautiful children ever, and it’s not just bias :) they are actually scrumptious. We talked about the amount of work and joys involved with raising a young family, he helpfully reminded me that my own clock is ticking :) and then he described something I thought was so lovely. Big family dinners.
Right now, meal times involve crayons and sticky fingers and chatter about what our favourite colour is, and it’s hectic and beautiful, but Chris was talking about family dinners in the years ahead. A big table with a big family and lots of loudness and laughs.
I love the idea of this, and I can’t imagine that there would be anything that would bring more happiness and satisfaction. Being with people you have built lifelong memories with, who you mutually treasure, who take enjoyment from you and your life, talking and laughing and enjoying a meal. What a gift.
It reminds me that our family and our children truly are a blessing from God.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them – Psalm 127:3-5
What do you love about family?
Hi Birgit,
What a great post! I can’t imagine life without big family dinners. My Mum and Dad believed in family time around the dinner table and we have continued the idea with our own children. No TV or telephone calls. Plenty of time, sharing, laughing and crying, talking and listening, arguing and making up over treasured old recipes and daring new ones, some wine and great music in the background. We come to the table to celebrate, commiserate, comfort and strengthen. It’s a daily ritual we have never taken for granted, a sort of sacred time really. I imagine my children will do the same. We all have to eat and the family dinner is a simple way to bring us all closer together while teaching us so many valuable life lessons. Now I have to go and prepare ours….
Hi Carol, I love what you’ve described about family dinners in your family. “We come to the table to celebrate, commiserate, comfort and strengthen” – what a beautiful picture of family life, and the way our time together over a meal is a setting for this. Thanks so much for your comment.