Daily Devotions - Tuesday, October 28

Table Fellowship

“We need not climb the mountain to see into the valley.
All things to be seen can be found in a simple shared bowl of rice.”
--Leo Buscaglia (The Way of the Bull), p. 159

In this last week of October, I have chosen to tell more stories from my experiences in Rwanda. These devotions will integrate the quote of Leo Buscaglia with some table talk about meals shared with brothers and sisters in Africa.

I was privileged to experience table fellowship in a variety of ways. For breakfast we ate at the hotels where a nice five star restaurant buffet was prepared for us to make selections. I was spoiled by such elegant treatment. Lunch was spent with Rwandese citizens (sometimes in orphanages, sometimes in local restaurants) where we enjoyed more ethnic foods like goat knuckles and stews. Dinner was enjoyably spent in a bit more upscale restaurant. No matter where we were, we were able to get a good sense of what it means to be a citizen of Rwanda. Why? Because as we shared life over a nice meal, we shared in common the gift of life and our gratitude for food that sustains us. I learned more with “a simple shared bowl of rice” than I learned journeying up and down the thousand beautiful hills of the country.

At our home we have a little saying we practice in all our relationships. It goes like this: “The purpose in life is not to see through each other but to see each other through.” Enjoy sharing life with others today, maybe in table fellowship.

Ben Keckler
10.28.08