In my current internship, there are 10 clients.
9 girls and 1 boy. All who range from 1st grade to 7th grade.
I feel like I have spent the better half of the semester talking about the many different challenges I’ve faced in my internship, and how literally insane it has been. It’s been hard. Quite possibly the hardest thing I’ve done, thus far. It has stretched me and challenged my morals. Honestly, I probably should have quit already (am I even allowed to say that?? I hope my boss doesn’t read this).
But, the reason I return every day is for the clients. They deserve the world, and I strive to give it to them.
It is crazy. Constantly. But, more than that, it is so, so sweet.
The structure of the program works like this: the clients come from school, they do their homework and around 5:00 everyday snack is served. They wash their hands, pick out their snack and come back into the main room.
Let me paint a picture for you. There are tables everywhere and enough seats for all 10 friends to sit comfortably around the room. Yet, without fail, every single day, all 10 clients squeeze in at the same circle table in the middle of the room.
They walk in, look around, like they might pick a new table, and then they lay their eyes on the center table, assess the situation, and pull up a chair.
Imagine a table, that is meant for four, with 9 girls and 1 boy all crowded around it, and somehow, they all fit comfortably.
And then commences the laughter. For a short amount of time, all around a table, they all get along, and they all have a good time. They get to forget about their homework, their mess, and their burdens. They get to be kids. And they soak up every minute they can.
But isn’t that just how we think it is with the Lord?
Sometimes His table seems so crowded by people who “have it all together”. We feel unwelcome. We think there could never be any room for us and all our mess. We let ourselves believe that there could never be a seat with our name on it.
And yet, every single day, the Lord shows us that there is a seat at His table. That we can leave our mess at the door and that, most of all, we are unconditionally welcome. We can come to the table because the Creator of the Universe is waiting for us to show up. He wants you, He wants me, He wants us all to take our seat.
The Lord’s table is a place where can laugh and cry and celebrate and mourn, and we will always be heard.
We all have things. We all have struggles. We all have burdens.
Lay them at the feet of Jesus. Find your worth in Him. Know you are always welcome at the table.
Take your seat. Stay awhile. You might just find you belong more than you ever thought you would.
You are His beloved, dear friends, may you never forget that.
So much love,
Carly
