Daily Delight
The holidays are here. Tomorrow many of us will sit down in our hometown dining rooms surrounded by family and friends we don’t see as much anymore. There will be warm feelings of togetherness glowing in the faces around us and for some, there will be somber mourning of the loved ones that are no longer with us, sitting at the table. No matter what, the holiday’s seem to carry a nostalgia and remembrance of what once was. Especially as an adult, coming back to a place or people that witnessed our childhood, it can fill us with joy and sometimes it feels us with pain too. Don’t block either feeling. Remember the people that aren’t here with you, and remember that you are at the table of “eucharisteo” - the table of thanksgiving, on this holiday and forevermore.
“He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me” (Luke 22:19 NLT).
In the Last Supper, Jesus says, “do this to remember me,” which is translated from the Greek anamnesis meaning, “constantly make this real.” This love that saves us, make this real for people. This love that holds us, nurtures us and reaches out to us in our pain, can be made real over and over again.
When Jesus “gave thanks,” the Greek for thanks is eucharisteo. The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. At His table, God gives us the grace to breathe. Literally the word eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes charis, or grace. He envelopes and covers us in comforting grace at the table of thanksgiving.
Remember this Thanksgiving that you are not carrying the weight of grief alone. That when you are returning to hard places, you are returning to them cloaked in His mercy. That when you look around the literal table and see holes where there should be loved ones, He is holding you. He sees you in your grief, in your joy, wherever you are and however you feel.
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About the Author
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 Amy Werner
Amy grew up near the mouth of the Appalachian trail in a northeastern town in Georgia. She now lives as a writer and science nerd in our nation’s capital, navigating life as a 20-something obsessed with finding sanctuaries in nature on the edges of the urban hustle of D.C. This new transition to D.C. has been a season of learning a posture of surrender and peaceful silence found with God even amid the noise of cultural expectations and standards.
Amy is passionate about seeking justice, finding faith in all of life's details and championing young women to see and appreciate their divine value and worth. Amy loves stories, campfires, donuts and strong friendships, often the combination of all these elements equals her happy place.
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