At All Times & In All Things
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Think of how the redwood trees can withstand strong winds and floods because of how their roots are intertwined with one another.
“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.”
- Simone Weil
Ephesians 3:17-19
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.
Food for Thought
Have you ever gone back and read something that you wrote years ago? A paper perhaps? A letter written to a loved one? Maybe a journal entry, if that is your thing?
I had this experience just the other day. I picked up my journal, dusted it off (I’m ashamed to say), and started reading my past entries.
It was the craziest thing – to hear my past self almost audibly talking to my present self. I started to wonder, “Did I really write that, because this feels oddly on the nose.” Some of the questions that had been rolling around in my head years ago were very similar to the ones I was asking myself that morning. You’d think I would’ve learned my lessons already.
I guess that is part of life’s journey – constantly learning new, or re-learning old, lessons.
While chatting with my mom about this very thing, I jokingly made the comment, “Will I ever stop wondering what I want to be when I grow up?” And she replied with an affirmative, “Honey, I’m still wondering the same thing!”
I have often thought that this very question is what makes life rewarding and exciting – never having it all figured out, but being open to what might be coming next. And while I think it is still true, in that moment I found it exhausting.
Sometimes you just want to cut out the ambiguity and have the answers in front of you. You want to skip the trial and error phase, and fast forward to knowing how it all turns out – when all the questions will be answered. “Did I follow the right path?” “Did I make smart financial choices for my family?” “Will everything turn out okay?”
In the midst of wrestling with some of these big questions, I received news that brought everything to a halt. I learned that a dear friend of my family had passed away. It was sudden, very unexpected, and quite literally knocked the wind out of me.
Truthfully, nothing puts things in perspective more than losing someone you love. All of a sudden, the questions that seemed so big just a moment ago, became trivial. Not that they aren’t important life questions, but they don’t quite capture what adds meaning to life.
I thought about my friend and the vibrant way he lived his life. I thought about the way he loved his family and friends so well, and how so many people recounted stories of his humor and silly antics. I thought about the way he made everyone feel seen and important – it didn’t matter if he had known you for the afternoon or for decades. I thought of the way he sat with my husband for hours when we lost my father-in-law, just to be there. I thought about all the ways his life had meaning, and how we, too, have the opportunity to offer meaning to those around us.
Ephesians says “...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” I saw this lived out in my friend’s life, and the way he was rooted in love with the community around him.
How easy it is to forget that it isn’t through doing all the things, it isn’t through having all the answers, but it is through love that we are rooted and grounded in meaning and purpose with one another and with our loving God.
We are rooted over and over again in God’s constant and unconditional love.
In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, God hears us. In seasons of joy and in seasons of grief, God walks with us. At all times and in all things, God is with us. Even when we have forgotten, God has not forgotten us. We are never alone, but held and rooted by the love of God that binds us to one another.
Take a few moments to journal about a time you have been rooted by God’s love during a difficult season.
Go for a walk outside and notice the beautiful trees and flowers. Remember that the beauty of the nature you’re admiring is only made possible by the health and strength of its roots.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Our Loving God,
What a blessing it is to know that
when everything feels out of control,
your love is constant and unconditional.
Even when we have forgotten, you are with us,
you are with us at all times and in all things.
A little Table Talk for your table...
What do you think it means to be rooted in love? How do you see that in your own life?
What are ways you can be rooted in love within your community?
Has there been a time when you were rooted by God’s love in a difficult season?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Together, take a walk around your neighborhood and study the trees. Notice this roots together and let your kiddo ask questions.
Talk with your child about the redwood trees, and how their intertwined roots make them so strong – they rely on one another for support in the storms.
Make a list of the ways that we can support one another in community the way the trees are supported by their roots.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Kendall Grubb is our CEO! She, her husband, and their daughter are a military family who calls Nashville, TN home. Earning degrees in music and business administration from Belmont University, she jumps at any opportunity she gets to create something new and help bring it to life. From writing and performing music to leading TWT, she loves the power that song and story have to connect people from all walks of life!
To hear more from Kendall throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
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