Pass the Plate - Devotion for 10/13/08

Pass the plate – Devotion for 10/13/08

How many of you had the delightful opportunity of sitting at the kid’s table when you would visit family? When we would go to my grandparents and visit, my cousins, my sister, and I would get to sit at a little card table they would set up over to the side, and we would be quite content with that. We would be content with that because when we were sitting at the kids table, we could get away with the goofy things that kids like to do (like getting your spoon to stick on your nose!). The unfortunate thing about sitting at the kids table is that our table was never big enough to have any food sitting on it, so for us to get food on our plates, we had to be completely dependant upon someone passing the plates of food our way. My Grandma was always so good about making sure that all of the plates got to the kids table. While everyone at the adults table would already be eating, Grandma would not take her seat until all of the grandkids had exactly what they wanted and needed to eat – especially for me to have her Macaroni and Cheese! That woman always wanted to make sure everyone else had something before she herself would even sit down and begin to eat.

I thought about my Grandma as I read Psalm 71 this morning. Verse 17-18 state: “O God, You have taught me form my youth, and I still declare your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.” The psalmist remembers what God taught him in his youth, and now as he has aged, he still feels the need to pass along to the next generation the power and strength of who God is. He feels the need (dare I say burden?) to pass along to the youth what He knows. Just as my Grandma wanted to make sure that we got the food, her actions also passed along to us love. Today, give thanks for those who passed down the love, hope, and faith to you, and begin to look for the ways that we may pass the plate to the next generation.