Tuesday Thoughts: Women of the Table
This the second of our current series, Women of the Table. In this series we are introducing you to the women that grace if:table every month and their stories of beauty and redemption.
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. —Acts 2:42
I’d Like to present to you Rachel Califf, here’s a little glimpse of her full yet beautifully devoted life here in Dayton. If you attended If:Dayton 2019 you probably enjoyed a yummy soup made by Rachel.
Rachel is a gentle friend with a kind heart that loves completely. She is a dedicated wife to Ben and leans into adventure with him on the hiking trail and in life. She homeschools her 6 littles teaching them life through the ways she lives hers. As a military family they understand transitions and also long for deep connections where ever they are. She is a creative who delights in beauty and seeks out the beauty in others. You can find Rachel serving in different ways around the community with her family. One of the most beautiful ways she has served this year is by recognizing her limitations and trusting the Lord with her family’s rhythm of life. You can catch her writing and wisdom as she shares what the Lord is teaching her on Facebook and at Grace Mama, Grace
Now from her own words see the impact If:Table has had, not just in her heart but in her family as they gather around the table.
As I set my family’s Thanksgiving table, I was overwhelmed by the impact of the If:Dayton table this past year. And it’s not just the eucalyptus arrangement and neatly folded cloth napkins. The impact is not even found in the glittering gold plates, that caused my six-year-old daughter to melt into breathy awe as her eyes flutter in delight. It was the most beautiful Thanksgiving table that I’ve ever arranged by myself. Oh, the beauty is certainly part of the impact of IF:Dayton in my life. I cherish the appeal of creating, gathering, displaying art filled beauty that lends an outward glimpse of the eternal significance of the table and gathering together. My three young daughters excitedly set the table and lit the candles, carefully scrutinized the napkin placement, while my eldest son arranged wildflowers in a vase. They stepped back to admired their work, imitating me with captivated smiles. I am awed by the realization that spending time setting the table with care and attention for the ones I love is an extension of my deep love for them.
The beauty of the table beckoned us and we leaned into it.
In the seasons of exhausted motherhood to many Littles, there were no charcuterie boards of carefully spilled out meats, cheeses, and crackers. In those seasons, there were plenty of crumbs,toddler-strewn food, mismatched plates, burnt apple pies, and rejected green bean casseroles. Looking back now, I realize that even then those feasts were just as beautiful as if there were glittering gold plates and flickering candles.
You see, the true and abiding beauty of the table shines through the people sitting around the table not just the table itself.
Thanksgiving offered a national pause for the purpose of gratitude and for that I am grateful. But what I have longed for is the intimacy and connection of gathering in my family’s daily life – not just at a Thanksgiving feast. I yearn for a daily and weekly routine of respite in the midst of busy lives. When I experienced this at IF:table, I purposed to bring this posture around the table to my home for the sake of my family. So, slowly, we have been creating space for family meal time, whether the meal is special or routine. On some days we set out leftovers but still we set the table and create space for our hearts to connect. Out of this intentionality we have a new tradition of family breakfast on Sunday mornings. It has become a much anticipated and treasured time around the table in our home. We talk, we laugh, we correct manners, we discuss the schedule, and, most importantly, we pray together.
This year our Thanksgiving table facelift did not stop on the surface; our family prayer time is fresh, new, and thriving, too. Around the If:Table, I have had the honor of praying with women that I admire and respect. Their prayers are full of devotion and surrender to the Lord, the Word breathed fresh with authenticity. There, I am surrounded by the women I want to emulate, a love and devotion to the Lord that I desire. At home I began to pray, in my stumbling way, authentically and vulnerably in front of my family at mealtime rather. No longer could I be satisfied with the rote child-like prayer we had always prayed together.Bringing my family before the throne that first day, I felt shaky, raw, and imperfect; feeling the surprised stares of my people did not deter me. It shouldn’t have felt like an act of bravery, but it did. It also invited my husband and children to do the same over our family, our friends, our city, our meal. Today, my husband prays as he has never prayed in our 16 years of marriage, and my children follow suit, and daily I bask in the glow of this miracle from God.
At this year’s Thanksgiving table, my family reaped a harvest of seeds sown by faithful women I barely knew last year. They opened their homes and invited me to their table, obeying the same beckoning to sit at the table to meet Jesus through each other.
And long after Thanksgiving, my family will continue to gather around a simple table set with care and love and bow our heads before the throne of grace. It will be full of beauty, and I will be forever grateful.
