“Here’s what I think,” was heard every day, every night as our children sharpened their brain skills and built intellectual muscle.
It was a night just like any other, which is to say it was another evening of rousing discussion. Soup spoons suspended in midair, quizzical brows, the thumping of a printed-out article on the table.
The article in question had been the source of that evening’s discussion. I can’t recall the topic of debate, but it likely had something to do with a current event, a book, an important idea or theological point. And everybody—everybody!—had an opinion about it.
Once a learning exercise that Clay and I established and encouraged, dinnertime discussions grew to be the pulsing heartbeat of the Clarkson table. It seemed dinner had two purposes—to eat and to discuss.
When our kids were young, I would ask each of them to share the most interesting thing they had learned that day, where we had gone on a field trip, or talk about what they had done with their friends. Their simple but enthusiastic sentences would tumble over each other. In those days the table was a place to practice manners, especially the arts of listening and asking.
As they grew older, sometimes Clay would bring a book or article, read or summarize part of it, and then ask their opinions. We sought to validate the thinking process in order to strengthen the muscle of thinking and engaging in ideas.
These days, we still enjoy the ease of conversation. Fostering mealtime discussion has been vital to the spiritual, social, and emotional growth of all the individuals at our table. Our lively dinnertime discussions are one of the things that most positively shaped my and my children’s lives.
Discipleship must reflect the fact that God values our voice, thought, and will. Dinnertime discussions reflect and enact this value, making a place where everyone can be heard, be exposed to truth, and have the space to develop convictions. Through dinnertime discussions, convictions can be formed, confidence can be gained, conversation can be practiced, and consideration can be taught.
Read more about this in The Lifegiving Table.
