Echoes of God's Love
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.
There is sacredness in slowing down and listening deeply to our lives. Consider how your life is enriched by the love and community that surrounds you.
Listening is about being present, not just about being quiet.
— Krista Tippett
We are not what we do or what people say about us. We are the beloved sons and daughters of God.
— Henri Nouwen
Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Food for Thought
When I was younger, I was quiet and shy. I was the child who sat in the corner of the room and listened to everyone talking — content to observe rather than participate. I was never the first to speak and rarely spoke unless spoken to. One day, my mother asked me what I wanted to do with my life. Without hesitation, I answered, “Sit and talk to people.” I imagine she found that amusing, given how little I spoke at the time. But even then, I think I knew that listening mattered. In the quiet, I was learning how to pay attention, how to hear beyond words.
Now, as a hospice chaplain, I get to do just that. I sit with people. I talk with them. And more importantly, I listen.
There is something profoundly sacred about the conversations that take place at the end of life. In these final moments, there is no time for performance or pretense. These conversations are raw and vulnerable and real. When I sit with folks, one of the questions I always ask is, “Who are you?”
It seems like a simple question, but it often stirs something deep. I am frequently met with a blank look. Most don’t even know where to begin, and truthfully I don’t know that I would either. One patient, after a long pause, finally said, “I'm not sure, but I know I try, and I know I am loved.”
The more I have asked others this question, the more it has settled into my own soul. I wonder if this isn’t God’s question for all of us. Who are we, really? And as we seek the Holy, who do we become? Perhaps even more important—whose do we become as we listen for the voice of God in our lives?
In my church, when we welcome a newly baptized baby into our congregation, my pastor introduces them by saying, “Some of these folks will teach you in Sunday school, some will be your mentors, and some will become dear friends.” It’s a reminder that faith is not just personal — it is communal. We are not alone. In shared community, our circles expand. We are shaped by those who walk alongside us, those who see in us the gifts that we don’t see, and who help us to hear more clearly the voice of God speaking love and purpose into our lives.
Sometimes we come to know ourselves better by the ways our lives are interwoven with the people around us.
At Christmas, I was shopping at my town market, immersed in my own world, when one of the kindergarteners from my church came up to me. “Helloooo!” she said, waving with the biggest, most enthusiastic wave imaginable. I was surprised! I didn’t think these little ones really knew me. After all, I'm just the teacher who sings silly songs about sheep, and gives out doughnuts at snack time. But in that moment, I realized—I am part of the community promised to them—the community that walks alongside them, helping them see their gifts as sacred, and reminding them often of God’s love.
May we all be such a community for one another. May we be people who listen, who notice, who wave each other into belonging, who serve as echoes of God’s love for one another.
Perhaps we will remember that none of us is meant to walk this life alone.
Perhaps we will stop wondering if we matter and instead trust that we do.
Perhaps we will hear, even in the quiet, the voice of God reminding us who we are and calling us to see the sacred gifts in each other — you know, the way community does.
Take some time this week to reflect on the question “Who are you?” Write down the first things that come to mind. If putting those things into words is difficult, try turning it into an art project and draw or paint the things that you feel.
Who are the people within your community that have helped you to see yourself and your gifts more clearly? Take a few moments this week to write them a letter of gratitude, or maybe pay them a visit to express your gratitude for their love in your life.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
God of love and belonging,
Help us to know the sacred gift of community — of having places where we are seen, heard, and loved. Open our hearts to listen deeply—to the voices of others, to the stirrings of our own soul, and to the quiet whisper of God’s love calling us by name. May we walk in the assurance that we belong and that our presence matters. We give you thanks for community that is woven together by grace.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Who in your life has helped you recognize your gifts or identity in ways you didn’t see yourself?
If someone asked you, “Who are you?,” how would you respond?
In what ways do you listen—to yourself, to others, and to God? What might it mean to listen more deeply?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
If someone asked, “Who are you?,” what would you say?
Who are the people in your life that help you feel safe and loved?
Who in your life might need extra kindness or a friend this week? How can you help?
Meet This Week’s Writer!
Khette Cox is an ordained minister who works as a chaplain in healthcare, and in her spare time is learning the piano, enjoys watching live music, and loves life with humor and a sense of the sacred. She lives in Old Hickory, TN where you will probably find her on her front porch with Felix, her Newfie mix, waving at her neighbors.
To hear more from Khette throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!