A Table

We started a marriage with Rent-a-Room furniture for the garage apartment that was first home. We ate off a bridge table that was a wedding gift and could be taken down if we needed space to walk through what passed for the living room. A move later we bought a brown wooden table with four chairs. Before its demise, it was painted green and fit in a nook next to the kitchen. After four years of “gracious country living” forty miles out from Houston, we had a real house with rooms that served the purpose for which they were intended. A Saturday morning trip to Christmas Furniture Store enabled us to come home with a real dining room table and eight chairs, enough for the five of us and three extra. The bridge table could still be called into service if needed.

These two tables and a counter with three stools served all our activity needs. Children could do homework and projects at the small table and the counter. Their surfaces weren’t sacroscant. I bought made to order pads for the good table. Those and a cutting board protected its surface when I needed to cut out pieces for a quilt or grade a stack of papers. One flat top desk could be utilized if a spill over emergency arose. Oh, and David’s roll top and standing desk which were his alone for spreading out and sorting piles.

Calendar pages flip to March 2020. What passed for a well furnished house was redefined. The spring was a make do time. Except for those who were home schoolers from the beginning, families had to decide what was learning space with the added requirement of being near a strong WiFi connection and maybe a socket within a reasonable distance. If an extension cord was needed, then don’t trip instructions joined the plans. At least one adult might be working in quarantine, so a quiet spot was factored in for productivity and to keep bosses and fellow workers from knowing too much about your family. Summer gave a reprieve. Fall redeclared a space emergency. Articles by decorating professionals appeared instructing how to redo a room to have effective work/study space, and helicopter mothers were replaced by monitoring moms following suggestions of ways to fold laundry and keep children on task was the same time. Tables and desks have risen in importance above couches and are at least equal to beds.

Multitasking is not just a word for humans. That requirement or skill now is a designation for a table. Almost a memory are the phrases that once preceded saying “table.” They were “set the table”, “come to the table,” and “clear the table.” During the middle one was a time to draw together. Plans for the day were considered and hashed out. A wrap up of a day or even settling a sibling squabble might be another part. Mixed in was some gentle laughter or encouragement and a discussion about favorite foods. We need this table moment to begin with a blessing. Those words that offer thankfulness and a request for guidance through and protection from virus, fires, race upheaval, country stress, and the multiple uses of a four legged table.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5