On Monday, Sue shared about the joy of forging fellowship around the table. God certainly values the table’s integral role in building Christian connection. The table is mentioned 94 times in the Bible, and food is referenced more than 1000 times! There is no doubt that God uses food powerfully to build up His family and to convey His plan of restoration and redemption.
Like Sue, I value the table and can recount many joyful memories of building bonds with family and friends around it. But this summer, I have discovered that the gift of food and its power to draw us together can also be found away from the table. Specifically, I can share that the local farmer’s market is a wonderful place for fellowship through the common denominator of food.
Since late spring, my young adult daughter and I have set out on a nearly weekly pilgrimage to our local meadow to meet up with a variety of local food vendors. We have embraced this rhythm of setting out early, driving through glorious woodlands, parking the car, and treading through dew-covered grass with canvas totes in hand, ready to purchase that week’s bounty. A special joy fills our hearts as we reconnect with our hydroponic lettuce farmer, the gourmet mushroom vendor, and the artisanal bread-maker who’s known us by name since week one.
My vegan daughter’s tastebuds awaken, along with her culinary talents, as she spies new veggies each week and formulates that night’s recipes in her head. Meanwhile, I love stopping by my favorite poultry vendor to see what delights they have on hand, then join my daughter at the bread stand. These dear bakers also have beautiful bouquets of cut flowers, and picking out a new bunch to cart home each week has buoyed my spirits in unexpected, joyful ways. Add in the variety of dogs that join their people on the weekly food hunt and the chubby-cheeked children who look quizzically at all the colors and textures of home-grown fruits and vegetables, and I do believe my daughter and I witness a bit of Eden glory each week. It’s like we’re stepping back into that glorious Garden that God created millennia ago, that place where He intended for us to dwell forever and to which He is inviting us back.
There’s just something about this rhythm that has filled my lungs with a little more air and filled my heart with an extra dose of joy. Occasionally, our weekly pilgrimage has become a 
family affair as my husband has joined us, we’ve met up with my sister-in-law, or we’ve run into dear friends. But I will say that the greatest gift of all has been this deepened connection with my daughter, a special tradition that we both hold dear, like an exclamation point to our week that reminds us of God’s abundant blessings and His care for our family. How precious our bond is. We cap off our outings as often as possible with a stop at our local coffee shop to sample the seasonal iced matcha. All the while, we talk about current events, respectfully offering our differing perspectives and proving to each other (and maybe onlookers) that love can grow and bonds can deepen through winsome, intentional, and gracious conversation.
At The Sublime Soiree, we often talk about God as our Ultimate Host, who has been inviting us to His great banquet table since the beginning of time. It all began in the Garden, though, and these weekly excursions to the farmers market not only remind me of God’s abundant generosity but also of His desire that we all join Him back in the Garden at a date somewhere in the distance. In the meantime, He blesses me with precious times of fellowship with my daughter, granting me opportunities to sow seeds of His love to her and others. Thank God for His glorious gifts!
How about you? Do you like to welcome people to the table in your home, invite people to join you on outings, or have you developed a knack for both? No matter our chosen rhythms, may all of us look expectantly for God’s invitations to us, and may we generously pass the plate of His invites to others.
— Linda R. Maynard © October 2024
