The Dinner Table

So I am kind of into the whole blogging thing right now... if you haven't noticed. I'm not sure if this is just a phase, but I am so blessed by some of the blogs and posts I have come across lately. They provide wisdom, encouragement, and perspective that I have been too busy or distracted to discover on my own. So, I'm not sure if it's blogging etiquette to blog about another blog, but you will just have to forgive me for a moment.

My sister, who has always been a spiritual leader in my life, sent me a link to a blog post that she really loved. And within a few sentences of reading, I knew the blog post was going to be good. Probably insignificant to some, this post made a light bulb go off for this gal! But at the same time I thought, "How did I miss that? Duh!"

So, the blog is called Flourish and the post is called Be Blessed by Shanna Lehr. Shanna starts off by explaining just how hard it can be to be a mama like many of us know. And like Shanna said, I know some days I continually think in my head "if I can just make it to dinner!". For some reason I think since my husband will be home to help, food will be in front of our faces ready to devour, and mama will actually get to sit down, that the chaos will just subside. And boy, am I always wrong! My meal is typically spent gathering napkins and drinks that I forgot to grab, picking up spills and messes, fighting with a 2 year old to eat one bite of a fruit or veggie, and feeding my 3 month old. And if I'm completely honest, it frustrates me. My selfish thoughts tell me that I have earned 30... maybe even just 15 minutes of a Leave It To Beaver dinner. You know, where everyone sits with folded napkins in their laps and acts like they love each other. And apparently in those days they would "get ready" for dinner... like bathe and stuff. Ha! Nobody's got time for that Jack!

Blessed to have these 2 at my dinner table!

But Shanna did an awesome job noticing something in Scripture. She writes:

John 13 is the passage where Jesus washes the disciples feet. Most of us have read it dozens of times in our lives. But, there is something about being a mom that caught my eye this last time. Read on, and see if you catch what I’m talking about: 

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

So, Jesus got up from meals and served people too?! 

And he is my example? And my attitude is to be the same as that of Christ Jesus,Philippians 2:5-8 tells me?!

The evening meal was in progress! I always imagined the Last Supper as being prim and proper because for goodness sakes people, you're dining with Jesus. But that's why I love Jesus... He interrupted a meal to serve! Our King does not want to dine like a worldly king!

Jesus didn't nag, complain, or think about himself (I'm totally guilty here). He served. And He served well. I mean, He washed people's feet... men's feet... men's feet that walked barefoot or in poorly designed sandals... imagine toenails in an age of no nail clippers.

But also He served during a time of fear and sorrow. He didn't serve after getting plenty of rest, after eating a good meal, or after hearing a great sermon that empowered Him to do so.

 "Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father."  

He served knowing that His time on this Earth was reaching it's final hours. Yet He still served. He still put others before Himself. He still used one last dinner to teach his disciples. Which reminds me, who we are and how we act is what we should expect our children to become. Our children become us, so if I attempt to embody Christ, so too my children.

I so needed this post today (and will need it every day I am a mother). Actually I needed His Word! And everyday I need Jesus. I need Jesus to continually show me and lead me in being a mama.... and not just a mama, but a wife, a sister, a friend, a co-worker, and most importantly a Christ follower.

P.S. When you read the post by Shanna, check out the first comment made by a reader. More great perspective is shared. We are blessed!