Life is pretty crazy right now. My youngest set of siblings (15 yr, 11 yr, and 8 yr) have been staying with us. That means with Anna and Max we have 5 kids in the house. And really, Max should count as two!

But, in the midst of all this madness I have been reminded of one important truth:

It is vital that a family find a way to eat together.

The dining room table has become our place of meeting. It is where we connect, share stories, play games, and do life together.

Sometimes we eat there too.

If it wasn’t for dinner time, I would have no idea what is going on in anyone else’s life. (Anna’s allergies are killing her, Emily is bringing up her grades in math, and James needs a field trip form signed if you were wondering.)

The kids wouldn’t have a chance to see Jennifer and I interact; to witness how we have to work together as a team to make sure the family functions. They get to see my wife continually be the last to the table because someone doesn’t have the correct number of ice cubes in their drink. If you have or come from a large family you know how patience and sacrifice are modeled around the dinner table.

If you think about it, a meal has always been a deeply significant event for people. The Bible is rich with these pictures. In the Old Testament, Israel had the Passover meal. In the New Testament, the church is given the Lord’s Supper. Both, meals communicate the same thing- deep love and sacrifice. And, they are meant to be celebrated together with the family.

Our dinner tonight didn’t carry the same spiritual significance of those meals. But, we do make sacrifices as a family to make dinner time a priority and we concentrate on making it a time of love and fellowship.

So, if regular family dinners together aren’t a part of your regular routine, give it a shot. We know firsthand how busy life can get. It sneaks up on you. You have to constantly fight to protect the dinner table. But for us it has been well worth the effort.