Written by Nina Pope, from the Village Church.
As dining rooms go, it was unusually large, and the leaded-glass cabinets that lined the length of the long wall added an old-world elegance. Within the cabinets was a display of fine china and silver that could only be described as impressive. Many of those contents had been given as wedding gifts, some others as pieces handed down through the family. Their true treasure lay in the love with which they had been given. The wall of cabinets had a built-in sideboard where home-baked holiday pies would rest until Christmas dinner was finished and they were to be served. The folks around the table had learned to save room for dessert because my mother had a knack for making the best pie crust ever. An invitation to dinner any time of year was always well received because the food was always beyond delicious then pie was sure to follow. My father always served the pie with a certain gleam in his eye, enjoying both the anticipation of a tasty slice and pride in his wife’s reputation for the feast she always created. Sorry to say, none of her children learned the secret of making her pie crust because there was no written recipe but only the advice that the dough had to “feel right”. The table was wide and had several leaves to accommodate sizeable groups. Linens, silverware, candlesticks, crystal all joined to make the whole room look special, and the center of it all was always a large arrangement of flowers from the garden. It was a sight to behold; eat your heart out Martha Stewart! Best of all were the moments when the table was surrounded by hungry family members and guests. Aromatic fragrance filled the air, and happy chatter filled the room with holiday excitement and the joy of being together for Christmas. There were always many guests joining, including long-standing friends of our grandparents’ era who always seemed attentive to us younger folk and made us feel special. Those occasions were a magical sort of time because they clearly signaled an aura of welcome that permeated every heart and square inch of the dining room. Without exactly speaking of it, my sister, brother, and I have embraced the same feeling of welcome in our own homes. In this current day of frequent chaos and unrest, it is comforting to enjoy the feeling of WELCOME. It reminds me that welcome originates with God who has first created and loved us, and who awaits our acceptance of his welcome on both holidays and ordinary days to enjoy and share with him and to extend to others.
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