“I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful and lends; and his descendants are blessed.” (Psalm 37:25-26 NKJV)
At family gathering, children often have to sit at the little table. If it is a large gathering, young and middle-aged adults tend to sit with those who are in a similar age bracket or those who have similar interests. Here is something you need to know. There is another place where guests gather at the family gathering and even though It has never been officially dubbed as such, I call it the “Seniors Table.”
Last Sunday, I sat at that table with the host’s mother. My daughter commented, “Oh you all have made this’ your table.’” She was probably recalling how we sat at the same table, in the same exact chairs at the last family and friends gathering they her husband and her had so graciously organized. As usual, they prepared enough food to feed the multitude in the Bible, but there was some spiritual food that was served up, yes, at the Seniors Table.
Let me tell you something! There is a lot to learn at the “Seniors Table.” As we shared stores about our pasts, a theme was obvious. The theme started at childhood, continued to be applicable in high school, and carried over through parenthood challenges, and civil rights injustices. Again, there is a lot to learn at the “Seniors Table.”
My wife sat at the table listening to the host’s mother and myself talk about the old days and how we realized that God was developing us through our trials and experiences. She was in awe as we discussed our similar experiences and how, regardless of what was happening, God meant it for our good. She even commented to the host’s mother, whose experiences topped mine. “It is a blessing to hear you share and you need to write a book or make a movie about your life.” I agreed!
I won’t go into the details, but I will just let you know what the obvious theme was through all our conversation. It was expressed repeatedly at one point by the host’s mother. She said something that you can learn about when you yourself are going through different things. Oh, yes, she talked about the way God opened doors she could not see without using the usual verbiage or church rhetoric, and she testified to the fact that the Lord will make a way out of no way as she shared her progression through the days of her life. The theme she spoke of, from experience, drowned out the noise of all the adults and children as she boldly said the same thing, a fact indeed, four times, referring to our God.
He’s been good!
He’s been good!
He’s been good!
He’s been good!
If you have never sat at the Seniors Table, I urge you to do so if the seniors are believers. Your faith will be enhanced! You understanding of what God is doing in your life will be enlarged! You will have your blindness removed and you will see what God is doing in your life! You will be able to make it through the storms ahead and say with conviction, in a calm voice when you come out of the storm, “Oh, that was nothing! My God was still working on me and stringing together a series of happenings to form my life story to share with others.”
If you have shunned, okay that sounds bad, if you have separated yourself from the Seniors Table at family and friends gatherings, I strongly encourage you take a seat at that table at the next gathering and lean how God is always in the life of believers. Be blessed!
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 37:8 NLT)