Happiness Around the Table

When I was growing up, we lived on a farm. Meals were on a schedule and everyone gathered around the table to eat together. I am the oldest of four boys, and mealtime was always a busy time. We shared what we had done that day and what the next day held. We didn’t have cell phones, and the phone we had was a “party” line which rarely rang while we were eating. The television was black-and-white and was located in another room.

We always ate a big breakfast and a big lunch. Then for supper, we ate the leftovers from lunch (probably a healthier way to eat than we do now). We raised cattle so had lots of beef. We also had chickens, so we had plenty of chickens and eggs. We raised rabbits, so we had plenty of rabbits to sell and eat.

We also always had a large garden that required work but yielded plenty of vegetables to eat. We had apple trees, peach trees and a melon patch. Looking back: life was good. It was at lunch and dinner that we each shared what we had done that day and what exciting things had happened. We laughed and shared jokes, and listened to mother and daddy who always told us what they expected from us the next day.

C.S. Lewis observed conversation around the dinner table when he wrote, “The sun looks down on nothing half as good as a household laughing together over a meal.” Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up bones.” This proverb tells us how to live life.

We all need to take this proverb to heart. Today, we live in a busy, complicated world that has way too much negativity. We need to laugh more with friends and family and celebrate regular times to eat and share life. Laughter among family and friends can create a safe place where we both know and feel that we’re loved.

Proverbs 17:22 –“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

By the Rev. Tommy Herndon