Discovering the good portion

I walked on to my college campus knowing I loved God. What I didn’t expect was how He would nourish me through His loving care with an invitation to know Him, and how that would change the trajectory of my life forever. It was as if I walked into a dining room with the table prepared for me, every morsel and portion a new facet of God’s character ready for me to taste and see his goodness.

Setting a table has become a practice in meditation for me. I imagine the Lord setting the table for me every time I set a plate on the neatly folded napkin. The flowers arranged are a reminder of His care for me. He dresses the lilies; how would He not dress me also? In fact, gazing at a beautifully set table reminds of His promise in Psalm 23 that it is He who “sets the table before me, in the presence of my enemies, therefore my cup overflows.” At the table, we are nourished in body, mind, and spirit. At the table, we can meet Jesus because those bearing His image sit around it with us.

When the meal arrives, I see the way His goodness continues to serve each portion at just the right time. He has never let portions designed for me come at the wrong time, not show up, or be given to someone else. And yet, the most stunning gift of all is how he gives us the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit’s power that we can notice and pay attention to His goodness at all. If it was not for the Holy Spirit’s power causing us to notice God’s goodness, we would miss it all together.

Daisy Dronen best quotes on gratitude for Begin Within: A Gratitude Series

My favorite verse, Psalm 27:13, reminds me that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I believe that a very tangible place to share God’s goodness starts at the table. Just like hunger bids us to the table, so can a heart seeking the goodness of God lead us to gratefulness.

The good portion is for you too

I invite you to begin at your table even today. You will have at least two, if not three, opportunities to sit at the table daily. There you can begin looking for the good portion, setting an intentional rhythm of paying attention. Maybe you could start with having your Bible open to Psalm 27:13 as a reminder that you are to be on the look out. This could then lead to keeping a journal there to jot down the goodness of the Lord. A journal entry can be as simple as expressing gratefulness for the way the light streams through the window at your quiet place.

Remember that story about Mary and Martha? When Jesus tells Martha that she is worried about many things, I find myself instantly in that scene. Can you relate? Do you find yourself in that scene too?

Sometimes the busyness of this world wants us to believe that this rhythm of reflection and paying attention is not for us. That is not what I see the Lord telling the sisters though. He reminds Martha that Mary has chosen the good portion. Do you see what He means? We have a choice and we are empowered to make the right choice.

He is the good portion (Psalm 16:5). He is the goodness we are searching for. He is always available to be discovered and He will not be taken from us.

Find a journal and leave your Bible open as a reminder to seek for God’s goodness at work in your life. Use these two, small practical steps as a launching point to nourishing a grateful heart because, after all, the good portion you are seeking is also the Bread of Life. He will satisfy you and his goodness will follow you all the days of your life (Psalm 23).

Meet Daisy Dronen

Daisy Dronen, a Honduran-born writer and bell-wether table gatherer behind the IF:Dayton community whose oasis for creativity and hospitality is the kitchen, writes about the good portion for Begin Within: A Gratitude Series.

Daisy Dronen is a Honduran-born writer who arrived in the US via Texas and now sets tables in Dayton, OH. She writes by grace—prose, poems, and other pieces that break open a bit more the ethereal and delicate gauze that stands between heaven and earth. Daisy is a graduate of the University of Texas, where she obtained a degree in Nursing and Spanish Studies.

Daisy is the bell-wether table gatherer behind the IF:Dayton community, leading the women to gather at the table and find Jesus in each other. She loves to connect hearts far and wide through Noonday’s Fair Trade Collection. The kitchen is her oasis for creativity and hospitality. She lives in the Gem City with her husband and three littles.

Where to find her . . .

Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.

Creating Ripples

If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.