Gather…it means more now.
At the beginning of 2020 I took one of those “Word of the Year” quizzes, just for fun. My word of the year for 2020 was GATHER. I didn’t really think much about it because to be honest, life was super busy and I couldn’t see how taking the time to gather would work out but I still tried.
On a Friday night in early March, I had a gathering at my house with a group of friends. We try to get together every few months but most of the time it only works out to two or three times a year because, well, life happens. This last time ALL of our families were able to make it and our house was filled with friends! It was such a good time that I didn’t even take one picture! That next week, COVID-19 and all that came with it happened and we all know how that stopped our gatherings for a while.
With the few extra moments that I’ve had since this all has started, I’ve been catching up on some reading. One book in particular that has been speaking to me is Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff. If you haven’t read it, perhaps now, especially now, is a great time to do so!
In one of the chapters in the book Bob mentions, “We have a lodge up in Canada. It’s a tradition we’ve had for decades that everyone who comes to visit us climbs under the dining room table to sign it and leaves a word behind.” Bob goes on to explain that one of his friends left the word “With” on the bottom of the table and that got him to thinking, “I don’t know what God would put on His table if He had one. I don’t think He’d want to have it read like a poem or look like a painting. I think He would just want it to say ‘With.’ He wouldn’t need a twenty-dollar phrase or a thirty-word Bible verse. He demonstrated the word “With” is much bigger and worthier and more accessible than any ten Bible verses. It also doesn’t rhyme with anything, which is a plus. It doesn’t sound like a big theological statement, because it’s not. It’s a huge theological statement. It’s God’s purpose for us. It’s the reason Jesus came. It’s the whole Bible in a word. People who are becoming love are with those who are hurting and help them get home. I’ve always thought that people who didn’t want to be with people here are going to hate heaven. Truly, it will be everybody, always there.”
I love my kitchen table. It’s one of my favorite things about our home. We’ve had it for about 10 years and it is well loved with glitter glue that will never come off, permanent marker scribbles, staple holes (that was me trying to be crafty), dings, dents and scratches. It definitely has character! Guess what I’ve done to my kitchen table?! If you guessed that I have flipped it over and written the word “Gather” underneath it, you are correct! So fair warning...if you are ever at my home in the future, you will eventually find yourself under my kitchen table signing it and leaving your word behind.
Why “Gather” and not “With” you might ask?...Because for me, gathering is me becoming love.
I have a feeling that once all the restrictions are lifted and we find our new normal, our gatherings will be even more reflective of love! I hope we will not hesitate to find the time to have friends and family over. I hope we will not blink an eye at setting aside our work to listen to someone that just needs to talk. I hope we gather so much more! I hope we will continue to show love to each other. To everybody. Always.
