Sweet Land of Liberty
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.
Consider all that has occupied the land where you live. Think of the stories that have given life to the place you call home.
We are more than the sum of our parts
All these broken bones and broken hearts
God, will you keep us wherever we go?
Can you forgive us for where we've been?
We Americans.
- The Avett Brothers
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Food for Thought
Last September, my husband and I made an impulsive decision to invest in a small camper. We started our camping adventures with a couple of local campgrounds, but then I was ready to GO! We planned a summer trip to visit Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. A total of seven stops in just over two weeks!
As we made our way across our country, the screens that typically distracted us were replaced with the most breathtaking landscapes. Oceans of green hills, crystal-clear lakes, bright blue skies that framed majestic mountain peaks. I found it interesting, funny even, when we would be coasting through a wide open plain, and suddenly we’d happen upon a small town that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I would wonder to myself, “How did this place come to be?”
I am not sure if you've watched 1883, or have played the game Oregon Trail, but I started to picture all of the pioneers that must have crossed these very lands centuries ago. Even still, my mind wondered further to the indigenous people that occupied this land long before the pioneers made their journey west. What that must have been like — for others to step foot on the land they called home and claim it as their own.
It’s as if I could feel in my bones the dichotomy of what lay all around me – the beautiful and the painful.
When we arrived at Mount Rushmore, I was absolutely awestruck by the magnificent rocks of granite and the sheer accomplishment of the memorial – masterpieces of both God and man, side by side. The first stop on the park trail was a Youth Exploration Area where they had bright, beautifully colored tepees on display for visitors to walk through. As we made our way over, we noticed a man setting up for his presentation.
He was one of the park rangers and a descendent of Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota tribe. He began telling us about the history of the rock itself and the land around it, and he shared stories from his traditions.
He shared how his grandfather was a great warrior and an important leader of his tribe. He also explained how the rock where Mount Rushmore was carved had been a burial ground for his people. For generations, people from the Lakota tribe would travel for miles to this sacred place to lay their loved ones to rest.
It was another reminder of the complicated history of this land, and yet, as he shared his stories, he reminded us that it is the passing along of these stories — the sharing of our history — that allows our legacy to live on. It is how we learn from one another and how we move forward together.
Today, as we celebrate our country’s independence, we remember that our country’s history is one that, on the one hand holds stories of great pain and hurt, while on the other hand holds stories of reconciliation and movement toward progress. And we must tell these stories together. We must remind ourselves who we have been, so that we can honestly see who we also have the potential to become.
When my family and I were at the Crazy Horse Memorial, I saw my daughter’s eyes sparkle as she watched a young girl, not much older than she, dance to the traditional music of her tribe. I am boundlessly grateful for this sharing of cultures, and for this country that, even with its complicated history and present, I am proud to call home as we strive toward its ideals of freedom and equality for all people.
This is the gift of the freedom we celebrate today — freedom to live in community, bringing our many stories, our cultures and religious practices into communion with one another — to learn from one another, to be changed by one another’s stories, to work for the good of our neighbors, and to move forward, knowing better and doing better because of the those that came before us.
Take a walk around your neighborhood and get to know your neighbors. Discover something new about them that maybe you hadn’t known before.
Learn something new about the place you live. Look up your home’s history, or ask a neighbor who knew the previous owners. If you built your home, learn something new about the land.
Our Welcoming Growth Journaling Page offers seven daily prompts to guide you as you look for ways to cultivate growth within yourself and the world around you this week! Feel free to print the journaling page, forward it to a friend, use it as inspiration for your own journaling practice (or group conversations), or maybe just a food for thought in your quiet time.
We hope you enjoy our Welcoming Growth Journaling Page!
Blessing
God of freedom and restoration,
God of the beautiful and the painful alike —
you created us for one another,
so that we could love and be loved,
so that we could teach and be taught.
Help us to remember that when we are open to one another,
we gain a better understanding of the vastness of your love.
A little Table Talk for your table...
On this holiday week, discuss together what freedom has come to mean to you.
Talk together about the complexities of our nation’s history. What do you feel are beautiful parts of our story? What do you have questions about?
Share a time where you learned something new from a friend — something you may not have known had you not listened to their experience.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddos to share what they think freedom means to them.
Talk together about how rainbows often appear after a storm — discuss that there are sometimes beautiful things that come from difficult situations.
Draw or paint a rainbow together. As you paint each color, talk about how a rainbow would not be complete without each one.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Kendall Grubb is one of the four founders of The Welcome Table! She, along with her husband and daughter, are a military family who call Nashville, TN home. Earning degrees in music and business 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!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!
If you have a story that you would like to be included as a Reader's Write feature, we'd love to hear from you! Message us on our contact page or email us at thewelcometableco@gmail.com.