November 26: A Table Set Before You

There’s a table full of food, a room full of people, and a bottle of wine within arm’s reach.

Holiday meals are full of good things. Turkey. Pie. Laughter. Kids running around. And for many people in recovery, they’re also full of hard things. Drinks being poured. Old tension around the table. The awareness that everyone else seems so relaxed with a glass in hand.

Psalm 23 has a line that fits this moment. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. David pictures God as a host, setting out a meal for him even while danger is close by. The enemies don’t disappear. But God’s table is there anyway. And his cup runs over.

That’s a different way to see a holiday meal. Not as a battlefield you have to survive. As a table God has set for you, right in the middle of whatever’s going on. The cravings may be in the room. The tension may be in the room. God is in the room too.

So come to the table with thanks. Before you eat, pray quietly, even if nobody else does. Thank God for the food, for the people, for your sobriety. Ask Him to stay close through the meal.

Keep your own cup full. Literally. Have your drink of choice in your hand. Refill it before it’s empty. Then nobody needs to offer you anything.

Enjoy what you can. The food. The conversations that go well. The little ones. You’re allowed to have a good time sober. Many people are surprised to discover they enjoy holidays more without drinking, because they’re actually present for them.

And use your plan. If it gets hard, step outside. Text your person. Leave early if you need to. Goodness and loving kindness are following you, the psalm says. Not just at the table. All the days of your life.

If the holiday has already passed this year, carry this into your next shared meal. It works at any table.

One thing today

At your next big meal, pray quietly before you eat. Keep your own drink in your hand the whole time. Find one moment to enjoy fully, and thank God for it.

A prayer

Lord, You set a table for me even when things around me are hard. Thank You for this food, these people and this sober day. Keep my cup full of You. Let goodness follow me home. Amen.

Wondering how faith and alcohol fit together? Read what the Bible says about alcohol.

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