I Still Have a Place at the Table
“A friend loves at all times…” Proverbs 17:17 ESV
The old cowboy had lived in the same farmhouse for eighty-five years. He was born there, and now he would spend his final days there.
One day I asked him about some of his favorite memories. I expected stories about rodeos, horses, or the vineyards where he had worked.
Instead, he smiled and told me about five good friends.
For years they had met every Tuesday and Thursday morning at five o’clock in a local café. They drank coffee, laughed together, and enjoyed one another’s company before beginning their day.
When illness made it impossible for him to leave home, they did not stop meeting.
They simply brought the coffee to him.
As he told me about those mornings, his eyes softened.
“It makes me feel like I’m still a part of everything.”
I’ve never forgotten those words.
It wasn’t really about the coffee. It was about friendship. Their routine changed, but their friendship didn’t.
That is what Proverbs means when it says, “A friend loves at all times.”
Illness can make someone’s world much smaller. Familiar routines disappear. Places they once went become inaccessible. It can become easy to wonder whether life is moving on without them.
Those five friends quietly reminded one old cowboy that he still belonged.
Sometimes God’s encouragement arrives through people willing to carry a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and stay awhile.
If someone you love can no longer come to the table, bring the table to them.
They may not ask.
Show up anyway.
Bring coffee.
Bring conversation.
Bring yourself.
You are still loved.
You are still remembered.
You still have a place at the table.