clearing the table: making space as hospitality

When I think of making space, I think of clearing the table before dinner.

If your house is anything like ours, the dining room table quickly fills up with crafts, homework, tools, or even plates from the night before. It's also the staging area for things we mean to take downstairs, return to someone, or pack for a trip. Somehow, it is always full.

But every evening, before we sit down to eat, we clear it. We put some things where they belong. We move other things aside. Sometimes we simply decide that a project can wait until tomorrow.

We don't clear the table because we just love empty tables (though we do!). We clear it because we're making room for something better. Clearing the table becomes an act of hospitality. We make space so we can rest, share a meal, laugh, listen, and simply be together.

Making space with God feels much the same. Our lives naturally fill up with responsibilities, good opportunities, unfinished projects, worries, and distractions. None of those things are necessarily bad. But every so often, we need to look at the "table" of our lives and ask what really belongs there right now and what can be set aside, even for a little while.

Making space is an act of hospitality. It's making room to notice God's presence. It's making room to receive instead of always producing. It's making room for the people we love, and for our own souls to rest. Making space isn't about creating an empty life. It's about making room for a relationship.

So what is sitting on your table today? What could be put away, moved to the side, or simply left until tomorrow, so there is room to sit with God, even for a few precious minutes?