Gratitude Practice 2022 Nov 16: Dinner with Jesus

So, we have these friends…and they are truly good and kind people and a perfect match and we love them. A few days ago, the husband made contact and invited us to a surprise birthday dinner for the wife. We arrived a bit late and missed the actual surprise but it did not seem to matter. The love was flowing and the light was warm and the table was full of happy people and lots of good food. After we arrived it took about four seconds before we were welcomed in, our coats were removed and we were ushered to seats saved for us at their table.

We sit down and without any hesitation the husband is scooping up heaping spoonfuls of yummy food and places it on our plates. Bowls of colorful vegetables and yummy crusty bread are being passed around and we are being fed…physically, mentally and emotionally. A bottle of celebratory Martinelli's is open and a fountain of bubbly refreshing sparkling juice explodes with delight and the kids giggle and squeal at this surprise and excitement. The noise in the room is happy and full of laughter and conversation and stories and I love these people. It feels real and safe and genuine. It feels comfortable and kind. I enjoy my meal but savor the love in this room and the company of these good people. The wife, with the birthday, is glowing and generous and good to the very core. The husband, earnest and proud and beaming with confidence as he pulled it all off. This family. This kind of love…imperfect yet somehow a perfect connection.  The other guests…all neighbors and friends who came to support are energized and engaged and endearing. All busy and balancing lots of adult responsibilities. All equal parts triumph and tragedy and most of all trying. All doing their best and falling short along the way…all growing and grieving and giving and somehow grinning their way through it. Everyone sitting at this table…weary yet willing…wounded yet welcoming…and all absolutely wonderful…all at the same time. The meal ends and the kids slowly escape from the table and grown-up conversation and begin to explore a house full of treasures and knick-knacks. I love these people. I love our ongoing conversations. I love our differences and similarities. I love our individual brokenness and the way we are each piecing it all back together. I feel full. I feel nourished and stimulated and known and satisfied and as I take my final few bites I look at my plate and somehow it all makes perfect sense. No surprise that Jesus was at this dinner party.

Part of the beauty of this lovely couple is their uniqueness and quirkiness and sincerity and absolute freedom to simply be them. Their orbit is a perfect blend of mis-matched hodge-podge heart swelling Jesus loving goodnesses…as evidenced by my dinner plate. Some may find this offensive or inappropriate but I thought it was both spectacular and very fitting. Jesus..a whole lotta Jesus was swirling around this silly little dinner party and it had nothing to do with my unique dinner plate. It had everything to do with these people and I could not be more grateful. 

Grateful for friends that feel like family. Grateful for real connections that provide a safe place to land…because we all need a safe place to land…and a home cooked meal shared with friends on a cold Wednesday in November is exactly where I needed to land today. Grateful for real life examples of what Jesus taught…demonstrated time and time again by this quirky group of characters. Grateful for the genuine space at the table that was created for me and my little trio. Grateful to be loved and seen and welcomed and heard and known and remembered by a handful of people who are trying to be like Jesus. Grateful for a good meal and an equally good reminder of what is important and needed. Grateful for the chance to love and be loved by so many really good people. Grateful for the chance to practice loving and living like Jesus.