Welcome to The Glorious Table
I love tables. When I walk into a store that sells furniture, I am inevitably drawn to the tables. When the Crate & Barrel catalog arrives, it’s the tables I flip to first. I have a dream of a long dinner table made from heavy wood, a bench seat along one side so people can crowd along it and bump elbows. I have another of a roughly hewn table in my backyard, one that has hurricane lanterns with candles flickering and mismatched chairs.
When I’m eyeing tables, though, in my mind they’re not empty, the way they are in the store or a catalog. I’m envisioning them surrounded by people.
Because what I love more than tables themselves is the purpose of a table.
It’s a gathering spot.
A resting place.
A filling station.
Every night, my little family of three eats dinner together at the table in my kitchen. It’s something I’ll never forego, and not just because statistics say it’s the most important thing a family can do together. Even with only three (one who is three years old, granted), it’s a place of laughter and sharing, with all of us talking over one another between bites. Family happens at the table.
A table is so much more than a place where we eat.
Last Saturday morning, two sweet ladies came and sat at my table. We drank coffee and ate muffins still warm from the oven. We mulled over Bible studies, talked about our experiences studying Scripture, and got to know each other a little. I can’t wait to share a table with them again.
[Tweet “Something began at that table. Because the table can also be a place of beginnings—and often is.”]
The Great Commission of Christ began at the table.
A year ago this past spring, after nearly two years of intermittently searching for a church in our “new” city, we found a place that felt like home. These were people we could sit around a table with, and we did. A few months later, a new friend and I jumped in and started a women’s group that met throughout the fall. Every couple of weeks, these women—and there were many of them—gathered around my friend’s kitchen island, which served as a table, and ate warm quiche and croissants and fresh strawberries. We all began to open up like flowers in the morning sun.
Being around the table will do that to you.
A few months later, we moved to yet another new city, and I had to leave that lovely little community behind. But those mornings around Christy’s table – they stay with me. They can still warm me from the inside out, even a year later.
[Tweet “The table has the power to nurture relationships.”]
Jesus knew this. It’s why he sat at the table with his twelve disciples. It’s why, when the time came for him to return to his Father in heaven, he chose to establish his eternal covenant with them at the table, with bread and with wine. It’s why we gather around that same table—in spirit—today.
The best thing about the table of Christ is that there is room for all of us.
And so today, I want to welcome you to another kind of table. This one is also metaphorical, but we’re hoping it contains the spirit of all the real tables we—and you—have gathered around and have yet to gather around. We want it to embody the spirit of Christ.
We’re here to talk. We’re here to share. We’re here to open ourselves like flowers in the morning sun.
The best thing about this table is that, just like the table of Christ, there is room for all of us. For all of you.
So we invite you to join us. We invite you to be part of the conversation. We want you to feel safe here. We want you to feel known.
Because being safe and being known are glorious things.
Welcome, friends, to The Glorious Table.
Harmony Harkema has loved the written word for as long as she can remember. A former English teacher turned editor, she has spent the past seven years in the publishing industry. A novelist and blogger in the fringe hours of her working mom life, Harmony also has a heart for leading and coaching aspiring writers. Harmony lives in Memphis with her car-loving husband and two small daughters. She blogs at harmonyharkema.com.
Photograph used with permission from, and copyright of, Michelle Lenger.
Enjoyed your first post, so excited about this. I also love tables, wish I had one with a bench also.
So thrilled you’re here, Debbie! <3
Congratulations on this new adventure…I love it already!
We love that you’re here, Jennifer!
good morning! My table is round, sorta like my life, but none the less, I’m thankful for it…
So excited about The Glorious Table. I am g to love it!
I love the idea of that big table outside…if it could be fall temps all year long 🙂 but I also love the reminder that while earthly tables all have a capacity that is eventually met, Christ’s table will always have room for more, without squishing the other folks already there.
My table is big, old, oak and bulky…it is 32 years old. The top is far from perfect. There are left over marks of raising 2 boys (and their friends), of years of sewing, costume making and crafts. There are imprints of hot mugs that accompanied many times of laughter, crying, friendship, egg dying, difficult decisions and tenderness.
This table is not modern, some of the chairs should be made a bit sturdier, it is nicked, marked and well used but it holds so many memories….it will be with me forever.
Thank you for sharing this with us Janet! Your table sounds absolutely WONDERFUL…filled with really beautiful memories. This makes us want to pull up a chair and run our fingers over every mark and memory with you. <3
I love this. And suddenly, I feel so inspired… to bring new people to my table to build new community… to be sure my table is cleared to host the needs and love of others. I think this is going to be an amazing journey!
Thanks, sweet Heather! So glad you’re here! <3
Lovely. I’m so glad to be seated at this table. This was a great message.
So glad you liked it, Jen! <3
Cheers! Such a succulent start! Harmony, beautiful words! A toast to making it right here, through obedience and dedication. Bubbly love and expectation to all the ladies here now and those coming.
Thanks, Lindsey! So happy to have you joining us! <3
One of my fondest memories is the gathering of family and friends for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom loved to pull out all the stops; stemware, lace tablecloth, salt dishes (what!!), and her special flatware. There were at least the six of us (Mom, Dad, and four siblings) plus whatever relatives happened to be around like Uncle Charlie, Grandma Stephenson, Grandma Mae and Grandpa Babe. There was usually one or two strays, college friends who couldn’t make it home for the holiday. The best part was I got to set the tables–one big lineup with three different sized tables along the length of our family room. I loved touching mom’s special dishes, knowing that very soon everybody would be sitting together celebrating gratitude, love and football. Those days will be forever on my mind and brings a tear for those who have gone ahead to heaven.
LOVE this scene! So wonderful!
Love this, Harmony! My sweetest memories with family and friends have happened around tables…my dining room table, our table on the back porch, even the coffee table in the family room where we play games. Community, sharing, love, LIFE happens around the table. So grateful to pull up a chair at THIS very special table!
Thanks, Kelly! So happy to have you here!
What a beautiful introduction to what will no doubt be a welcoming, warm corner of the world for many. I look forward to sitting at your table, as often as possible. xo
Great post, Harmony. I realized I love tables, too, though I don’t think I’d given it much thought before. I’ve had my kitchen table for over twenty-five years and still love it. So many memories of meals, games, conversations, and fun.
Thank you for inviting us all to the exciting fellowship of The Glorious Table.
You have invited us in with such grace. Thank you for the warm welcome to this new community. As we find our seat here, our hearts will soften. We can learn vulnerability and, in turn, practice this same gracious hospitality around our own tables. Bread and wine, love and grace. It is enough.
This is a beautiful post! Thank you! You brought back many great memories for me, sitting around the dinner table with my family at 5:00 pm, Sharp! My mom never failed to have dinner on the table and everyone seated, 5pm was our time. Time to share our days, and to listen to one another. I think many families today don’t take that time to sit around the dinner table and talk. I admit now that it’s just hubby and I, our table doesn’t get used much. But today, I have the urge to prepare the meal, set the table, and enjoy each others company without the TV. 🙂 I am looking forward to this community!