There's a Seat for Me

Tables. 

They hold significance. They hold value. They hold intimacy. In our home, our table is special. It was hand-made by my husband and grandfather with their signatures underneath. It’s sticky and oftentimes the chairs are dirty. Our table has held many dinners for our little family but also extended family, chosen family, youth kiddos and friends that have stayed in our life or only for a season. There have been Bible studies there, card games and homework done at that table. Our table has seen a lot of life in just six years of marriage. It’s one of my favorite pieces in our home and holds great significance. 

I’ve been reading through the Gospel of Matthew for the first time ever and as I came upon chapter nine, I couldn’t help but smile. Jesus is constantly healing and walking through towns with the disciples. He is defying the norms of the times yet He moves with intention and grace. He moves with love and mercy. He is compassionate. He has done countless miracles. As I read the words upon the pages I can’t help but picture Him walking. I can’t help but think about how He did this and the way He was. I often ache just to interact with Him in the way they once did and take joy in the Truth that one day I will. 

As I came upon the middle of the chapter, I caught myself in verses ten through thirteen: 

While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.[f] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

[Matthew 9:10-13 HCSB]

Did you catch that? 

He sat among the sinners. He sat with the ones that wouldn’t have been thought of to sit with. He reclined at the table with sinners. Goodness, the significance. He made Himself comfortable at the table. He made it clear that His place was among those that were broken and insignificant - the ones with the broken home lives and that made mistakes. He wanted to be with them and then when He was, He was comfortable. 

I can’t help but smile and feel such relief within my chest as I remember He reclines with people like me. He reclines at the table with a broken girl like me- even the girl who leads yet crumbles under a spirit that battles depression. I’ve been asked before that if I could meet Jesus anywhere in physical nature, where would it be and immediately I said my home. I said how I would love to sit with Him at my table and just talk. I would love to have coffee and see His thoughts on my dreams and where I believe He is leading me. I would love to see Him relax in my dirty chairs covered in fingerprints of food from my littles and share about the miracles He has done lately or the conversations He’s had with my family that is already walking the streets of gold. 

But above all, I just love knowing that there is a seat for me. There is a seat for me at the table with the One Who loves me most. The one Who knows every bit of me and my mess yet still chooses to recline with me. He wants the relaxed and real side of me because when I am real with Him, I am real in life. He wants to sit with me at the table because there is a seat for me. 

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A little bit about Emily...

Emily Davis is a wife, mother, and devoted servant of Christ. As a pastor’s kid, church was always a central part of her life, but over time she came to love the Lord with her whole heart. In 2023, she founded Through the Seasons, a ministry that offers encouragement to women through social media, blogs, events, and a podcast. Emily boldly shares her testimony to speak life and healing into the hearts of women. She believes that no season is wasted—and that through every high and low, God remains faithful and good. A passionate, Scripture-rooted speaker, Emily finds her deepest joy not just behind a microphone, but in small group settings, walking with women through life’s challenges, or simply chatting over coffee while her kids play nearby. Whether teaching from a platform or studying quietly with others, Emily is a true student of the Word, faithfully pursuing Christ in the everyday moments of life.