the extravagant invitation we’ve all been waiting for — #TellHisStory
And in the dream, thereâs a long table stretching out under an open sky. The heavens are coated with stars, so many that we donât need to light the ivory tapers that someone twisted into those crystal holders. The table is covered in a white cloth that blows in the summer breeze, and all the people are laughing and carrying on. I carry pottery heaped high and steaming to that long rectangle in the grass. My hands smell like garlic, and the air smells like lilacs.
Iâm not wearing shoes, because I want to feel the grass between my toes when I walk back and forth to the kitchen.
The little boys are burping. Some of the women are dressed in sequined gowns, like they got all gussied for some ball to be held in some marbled room somewhere. Sitting beside them? New friends who came wearing their dirty, threadbare T-shirts with screenprinted sayings like, âGo Wildcatsâ or âLife is Good.â Thereâs a Mercedes parked next to a rusty Pinto. I nearly trip over a pair of crutches propped up near the head of the table.
Everyone got invited, and almost everyone came. We had hoped and prayed they would. We had wanted them to taste the feast. And we know for sure that someone had hoped and prayed for us, too.
There was this awareness hanging in the air: It cost someone a lot to make a space for us at the table. We came with empty pockets, because the host told us that this was all a gift.
The price of admission? Our hunger.
In the dream, a bunch of us had taped a sign to a barrel and rolled it out to the middle of Main Street. âCome One and All!â Â The poor, the lame, the drunk, the rich, the holy. The naughty kid, the valedictorian, the blind guy, the beggar, and the CEO.
There was room for all, and all of us had been waiting our whole lives for this. We didn’t know it until now.
The table seems intimate — like it could fit in the corner of some small diner — yet it stretches for miles because the host didn’t pick favorites. He wants us all.
When I touch the table, it feels like it has a heartbeat.
From the grass, I watch them come ’round the corner, out by the wizened oaks. Some have tears in their eyes. A guy in a three-piece suit drops to his knees on the sidewalk when he sees a chair with his name on the back of it. An old woman throws back her head and starts singing a song I’ve never heard before, but know. There’s a poem hanging from the branches, and music slides down from the sky. It falls like dew on our skin.
And the fireflies dance around our heads.
I see no masks. No one pretends or tries to prove a thing. We showed up fragile and hungry. We are safe here.
“Bring your mess,” says the banner flapping in the breeze. “Your mess doesn’t disqualify you. It’s your ticket in.”
All of us, we know we are a mess, and when we get to thinking about it, we are astonished at the invitation to a table so sacred. The host lets us help serve the dinner, which floors me. And so we keep bringing out potatoes, and green beans, and filet mignon, and my hands shake a little, at the honor of carrying food to the table.
There is more than enough for everyone.
In the dream, someone clears his throat, and the sound echoes down the table, a hallowed rumble. He says: “Have a seat please.” We all find a place at the table. A holy silence falls around our ears, and then down to our ankles.
Everyone is barefoot, and all the bare feet are under one long table, and thatâs the part that makes me cry every time.
#TellHisStory
Hey Tell His Story crew! It is always a joy to gather here every week with you. The linkup goes live each Tuesday at 4 p.m. (CT). If you would use the badge on your blog, found here, that would be great! And if you would visit at least one other blogger in the link-up and encourage them with a comment, that would be beautiful! Be sure to check the sidebar later. Iâll be featuring one of you over there! Our featured writer this week is Karrilee Aggett. She shares about choosing to embrace change as the seasons begin to shift – around us and within us. Find Karrilee here. To be considered as our featured writer, be sure to use our badge or a link to my blog from your post. đ xo Jennifer
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A beautiful picture! I know I’m invited:)
Quite the invitation, isn’t it? So grateful for his grace.
No long comment or added words just….thank you, Jesus!
Amen, Karen!
I’ve read this three times now–I want to imprint this scene on my mind. Years ago I had a dream of the sacred feast, too. I was a barefoot servant girl who brought wildflowers from a meadow to decorate the table. What I didn’t know then, but understand now, is that there’s a seat with my name on it. Glory!
Bless your heart. I’m so glad these words encouraged you today, Constance.
This is just wonder-full! Thank you!
Grateful for your words. Thanks for stopping by this week.
this is so beautiful
Thank you, Sharon! Always a joy to have you here.
A beautiful dream, Jennifer. I think it sums up what drew me to and keeps me with Jesus… and good food and life at the table.
Thank you, Devi.
That is one dream I am praying comes true. Beautiful, intimate and welcoming for all. Thank you for these words!
It’s a dream, and it’s real life! By God’s grace alone…
“Your mess doesnât disqualify you. Itâs your ticket in.â
Love these words…and your description of our banquet…
Thank you for sharing, Jennifer!
Thank you, Joseph. A joy to have you here.
Love this Jennifer, what a beautiful picture you’ve painted with your words.
Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Your words mean a lot. xo
I love this- “your mess doesn’t disqualify you- it’s your ticket in”. Beautiful post.
Thanks, Carly.
Ah, so this is what it means to take off your sandals because this is holy ground. Ah, so this is what the wedding feast of heaven is. Ah, so this is what it means to be a hungry beggar who will be filled. Such an exquisite post, my dear Jennifer.
Love
Lynn
Thank you, Lynn. Holy ground indeed …
Oh, Jennifer! I love, love, love, love, love, love, love this!!! Such an awesome picture of that delicious, heavenly feast! It so reminds me of the book I wrote (yet to be published), especially what I wrote about Mephibosheth. Oh, how I love this! Beautiful!
How exciting, Lynn! Congratulations on your book.
Thank you, sweet Jennifer! I linked to this post today. Hope that’s okay. đ
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! Your words remind me of Shauna Niequest and her words in her book “Bread and Wine.” Jesus does call EVERY SINGLE ONE of us to the table! And I am so very thankful for that! I want my home to be that place too!
Oh Shauna Niequist. I love her. I have that book, and need to get around to reading it! Too many books, too little time. Thanks for the reminder of “Bread and Wine.”
Yes… this is my kind of table too. Thanks Jennifer.
Grateful to have you here. xo
Absolutely breathtaking, Jennifer. I love all your word pictures, but these words touch me with beauty… “An old woman throws back her head and starts singing a song Iâve never
heard before, but know. Thereâs a poem hanging from the branches, and
music slides down from the sky. It falls like dew on our skin.” Pam, http://wordglow.wordpress.com apples of gold
Thank you, Pam!
Jennifer,
what a beautiful dream…what touched me was what you wrote about how the only requirement was our hunger….what grace…makes me think of Psalm 63…Thanks đ
Oh yes! Perfect verses for this. xo
So beautiful, Jennifer. There’s always room at the table. Thanks for sharing this.
You are so welcome, Sue. xo
Oh man! What a wonderful dream that will all-too-soon, be a reality at the Marriage Supper! And THIS just undoes me…âBring your mess,â says the banner flapping in the breeze. âYour mess doesnât disqualify you. Itâs your ticket in.â
Me, too, Caryn. What amazing grace.
Oh how I LOVE this! You paint a picture of a community we all long to be a part of, a table where we can all feast freely, a place where grace spills like wine and a welcome beyond any we have ever known before. Thank you, Jennifer, for this tantalising glimpse of heaven to come. đ
It’s gonna be mind-blowing. đ
The heavenly banquet where all are welcomed through His grace . . . Beautifully expressed, Jennifer!
Thanks, Martha.
Beautiful picture of what real community looks like. Come one, come all.
Yes! And you know what? That photograph is from an actual dinner that a friend hosted in her yard a couple of years ago. The dream looked a lot like that picture.
An idyllic setting for the story of eternity. Yes! All good things and beauty here and worthy to be told. Invitation pierced in His hands–I’m so there.
Joy!
Kathy
Yay! Thanks, Kathy. If I don’t see you on earth, I’ll meet you at the table, oK?
Oh my goodness… this dream, my friend! Gah! I love it so much and I can. not. wait. to sit at a table, barefoot and unwinding, together with you in real life! And thanks so much for the honor on your lovely sidebar! I love hanging out with you… any way I can! đ xoxo
So happy to feature you, Karrilee. I love you … and your beautiful heart!
I am so grateful that my mess did not disqualify me! May I always remember He bids all welcome! Beautiful post!
Amen, my friend.
What a beautiful picture of our Savior’s table of grace! âYour mess doesnât disqualify you. Itâs your ticket in.â Such a comfort in this! Thank you, Jennifer.
A comfort indeed!
Simply beautiful. Simply Jesus.
Hugs. Thanks for being here Tiffany.
This is beautiful, I think in images so had a delightful idea of your party — a vision for God’s promise for our lives and for all of humanity!
Thank you, Kathy.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful dream with us. Such imagery! Such beautiful hope. And bare feet? Love it! #hope
#KickOffTheShoes
You touched my heart today, thank you for sharing this so beautifully.
Thanks for being here, Amanda. I’m glad this spoke to you.
Heart grabbing beauty… these words… “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”… that banquet in Heaven… this is maybe what it looks like here on earth… thanks for sharing!!!!
What a beautiful picture. Keep on sharing such “dreams”. Truly a gifting for the soul!