“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive. ”
I've always loved coming together and bringing new and old friends around the table. I really don't think I could have said it any better than Alice Waters. She truly, in the above quote, encapsulates why coming around the table with others means so much to me.
It's something I have always and will forever hold near and dear to my heart.
Being raised by a grandmother who modeled the heart of gathering on a daily basis and being surrounded by the quintessential Southern woman taught me many things but one of the most important is that people matter and serving them matters even more.
Of course, this is the perfect season to share recipes and tablescapes and all sorts of amazing inspiration.
But, gathering is more for me than just sitting at a pretty table and enjoying a meal or even laughs.
It's more than offering pretty napkins or plates and giving those around the table something interesting to look at. While I obviously enjoy all those things, that can't be the end of the story.
When we gather, we offer others an opportunity to tell their stories and to hear our own.
We give life to hope and all of sudden those that didn't have place or purpose are once again fulfilled and connected.
It's a beautiful thing.
At the table, we are reconnected, revived and restored.
There is power in your connection. There is power in your story.
So gather. Explore. Tell your story around the table.
