Notice. Pray. Show Up. Love.
Love adds up, Love spreads, Love builds community
Editor’s Note: Welcome to Sit & Listen Saturday featuring Devotionals Daily audio devotions. Enjoy reading as well as listening to your devotional today from The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell.
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In the beginning, the day the unpainted picnic table arrived at our house, I posed a hypothesis: What if we were to take all of our backyard activities — our birthday parties, bubble blowing, messy art activities, barbecue suppers — and simply move them to the front yard? What would life look like if we lived as Front Yard People?
I had a hunch, but not a plan. There was no Front Yard People strategy, no 10-point Turquoise Table action plan, or hokey “Howdy, Neighbor” schedule. Heck, I didn’t really even think about it.
Everyone asks me about the first day, the very first moment at the Turquoise Table. It’s one of my favorite stories to tell — how Susan showed up just a few minutes after I sat at the table. But as much as I love that story and Susan, it is not the most significant moment. The defining moment happened long before the Turquoise Table was even a twinkle in my eye. It was the moment of surrender in the middle of the conference at the Austin Music Hall. When I was so desperate to hear from God with a plan, I begged Him to “SHOW ME! Show me what hospitality looks like to You. Show me how to love others in real community.”
I was broken. I cried out for help. God showed up.
It’s still the same today. Although gratefully not as dramatic. While there is no one-size-fits-all formula for life at the Turquoise Table, in my experience, there is a pattern: Notice the needs of others. Pray. Show up. Love.
Notice. Pray. Show up. Love.
Absolutely, there are days when it’s blazing hot outside or I am tired, but showing up — even fifteen minutes at a time — matters. Love adds up. Love spreads. Love builds community.
Of course, community was always there, ours for the taking. We simply needed a nudge, a new way to see through the busyness and distractions in life. A place to slow down, sit down, and be present.
