The Family Supper Table

from November 2022

Is God One Person?

Gò0dNews from the Pastor’s Desk

The Family Supper Table

by Donald Cantrell

Iremember it as if it happened yesterday. My daughter called my wife late at night in November 2019 and told her she felt as though she was going to die if she did not go to the E.R. My wife took her to the E.R., and while there, they treated her for an unknown illness—which would soon be known as Covid-19. After two trips to the doctor’s office and two trips to the E.R., Whitney finally got better, but they still had no clue as to why she was sick. It was during the spring of 2020 that news of the virus began to take hold of the world and life as we knew it seemed to change forever.

Due to the world being on lockdown, something good happened within our family—we were re-introduced to the supper table. As a pastor, I have had the good fortune of being able to work from home for the last twelve years. Because of that, it has been my pleasure to become a “cook.” Since most of the local eating places were off limits, I became the family chef, as I would have supper ready and waiting for everyone to come eat at our house.

Though the world was facing death and danger, our family of five found an oasis within the confines of our house, sitting around the supper table. Once everyone left work, they would arrive at our house one by one until my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were safely and happily eating and laughing at the table.

To be completely honest with you, I am not a chef because my forte is baking bread and crafting sumptuous desserts. During the past few years our family has tried all sorts of beans from the crockpot, pork chops that were baked in the oven, and even a “Tim Tebow Pizza” (although, only my wife and I were fans of this awesome pizza; some people in my family are not cultured).

The beauty in all of this was simple—it was not about the food. The blessing of the virus driving the world into isolation was that our family became even closer as we would sit down each and every evening and share stories about our day. There was a sense of peace and pleasure in seeing everyone’s car pulling into our driveway because I knew that, once again, they had survived.

It was a blessing to sit around the family supper table watching as everyone set their worries and frustrations aside while eating some “good meals” and some “not so good meals.” One thing that was established within our family was once we sit down to eat, there is to be no talk of the virus. We celebrated another day of living. We live in a world of advanced technology, but one of the greatest inventions known to mankind is the family supper table.

About The Author Donald Cantrell is a lifelong native of Murray county and has been pastoring and preaching since 1980. He has had the honor of publishing over thirty books and his sermon material is sold all over the world by various online companies. If you visit his house any weekend in the fall you will find them watching the “Florida Gators or the New England Patriots… Chomp Chomp.”