Of Desolate Places and Dinner by Candlelight
The Epoch Times reports:
After a trip to Norway, a missionary family of six took on a new tradition of eating dinner by candlelight and noticed some amazing changes. ...
The family has lived “all over the place” owing to mission work including Norway, in 2017, where they came face to face with a different take on family dinnertime.
“That is actually the first place we saw that people use candles a lot for dinner,” Mrs. Coats told The Epoch Times. “I don’t think it’s the tradition ... from what we’ve gathered, I think it’s their lifestyle.”
Since they began, Mrs. Coats has noticed some interesting changes in her kids and their family dining dynamic.
“[W]e turn lights off, and it’s calm, and they‘ll sit and talk. They will sit longer because I feel all the distractions go away,” she said.
Mrs. Coats believes there is “an attack on the family unit” and a distraction epidemic in the United States.
“We’re distracted with our phones, we’re distracted with our TVs ... and it’s eating up time that we could be face-to-face with people,” she said. “I would say, even if you’re not with your family, or maybe you don’t have an immediate family, just get out of your comfort zone and find people.”
What a great idea! One worthy of every family to give it a try. Pulling aside to rest, refresh, and connect on a deeper level is a very biblical concept. Consider these words from Scripture:
"And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31, ESV).
While this verse is in no way "directly" addressing family meal time, it is nonetheless addressing priciples that might prove helpful as we consider our own families' busy, "distracted" lifestyles.
Context:
The disciples had just returned from a mission where they preached, healed, and cast out demons. They were tired and had been so busy that they hadn't had time to even eat.
Rest is Necessary:
Jesus acknowledges their need for rest (and eat!), recognizing it as essential for both their physical and spiritual well-being.
Rest and Ministry:
While rest is important, it's not meant to be a permanent end to ministry. Jesus is not telling them to abandon their ministry work, but rather to take a break to refresh themselves before continuing.
Desolate Place:
The "desolate place" suggests a quiet and secluded location where they can be free from distractions and find peace.
Purpose of Rest:
The purpose of rest is to restore their physical strength, allow for spiritual reflection, and prepare them for the continued ministry that awaits.
As we examine and recognize the craziness of our own lives, we would do well to look to Jesus' and the disciples' examples of pulling away to an undistracted place to quiet ourselves and feed both our bodies and spirits. In this way, we can join the Coats family in fighting “[the] attack on the family unit” and "distraction epidemic in the United States."
So go ahead ... Turn out the lights, and turn on family rest and rejuvination!
"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise" (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, ESV).
Family Heirlooms
I like the idea of family heirlooms. Something tangible and meaningful that I can pass on to my kids that will give them a lasting connection and memory of previous generations of our family. I often think about what I could give them. My grandfather had a nice Swiss watch that I received after he died, but it isn't working and just sits in a drawer. I also received a Winchester rifle for deer hunting that my Grandfather used, but when I took it to the range, I realized the barrel was worn out. It did not shoot very accurately at all anymore. My mother gave me a wall clock that had been in my family for years. It was beautiful, and I remember its pleasant chime that announced every hour when I was a kid. After winding it up and hanging it on the wall, we realized that it wasn't working either. Its chiming days were over.
It seemed that the only things I had to hand down to my kids were not working, broken and useless. Then I thought about giving my kids one of my old bibles. As I looked through them I found that they were all well worn, marked up and falling a part.
I think these are all reminders that everything in this world becomes broken and useless. Everything of this world that we hand down to our kids will break, wear out or fall apart.
The most important thing we can hand down to the next generation is our faith. It is our faith in Jesus that will never spoil, rot or fade. It will never break, wear out or fall apart.
I don't mean just to hand down the outward expression of faith, like going to church and praying before meals. Those things are important as long as they point to Jesus, but if they become what's most important then they have lost their value entirely.
I realized that I have already been handing down to my kids what is most valuable, a example of walking with Jesus. Every time I pray with my kids, every time we read the Bible together, every time we love our neighbor, we are giving them something that will last for eternity through modeling a relationship with God.
An important part of our model to our kids should be giving and receiving forgiveness. Our kids know more than most people that we are not perfect. We don't model perfection; we model people who live by grace. We can teach them how to deal with our imperfections by asking for forgiveness and teaching them about the forgiveness of Christ every chance we get.
I ended up giving each of my kids one of my worn out, marked up, Bibles that are falling apart. I did that not so they can pass on those books to their kids, but so they can pass down the example of reading it, using and marking it up. The ability and desire to hear God's voice through is Word is what's most important to give to the generations to come.
Don't Wait To Say, "I Love You"
Passengers on board a Delta Air Lines flight were left fearing for their lives after their plane plunged almost 30,000 feet in just seven minutes. Flight 2353 was traveling from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale in Florida when the incident occurred, prompting passengers to text loved ones in preparation. One passenger tweeted: “I texted my wife and dad that I loved them. I told my mom I love her and hugged my son.”
This incident brought to mind what happened on 9/11. When passengers aboard the hijacked 9/11 jets and also the people in the Twin Towers realized they wouldn’t survive the ordeal, many reached for their cell phones and quietly dialed their loved ones. If no one answered, they left recorded messages with their final words: “I love you.”
They could have said: “Don’t forget to pick up the groceries.” Or, “Make sure you feed the cat.” But, of course, they were focused on their personal relationships. They desperately wanted to say, “I love you.”
Let us not wait until we are dying, or we think we are going to die, to give someone a hug and tell them that we love them.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).