One of my favorite people on Instagram, Jess Todryk, always talks a lot about the people at your table. I thought it was the perfect reminder as we get ready to physically sit down at our Thanksgiving tables this week. While many of us will be together in person at our tables, I love the meaning behind the people who you invite to sit at your table and do life with you.

While Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and count our blessings for the year, it’s also a reminder of the people in our lives and what they mean to us. When you look around at your table of life, who do you see? Do you see family and friends who love and support you? Do you see others who judge or are critical of you? Family isn’t perfect and we all know that we won’t agree or get along with everyone all the time but what does it mean to be invited to have a seat at the table.

To me, it means that you love me unconditionally through my good moments and my mistakes. It means that you have a vested interest in me and how I’m really doing. It means you are not only my cheerleader but my comfort when I need it the most. It means I don’t have to prove myself to earn your love.

As our kids have grown, we have always had a tradition of going around the table after the meal and saying what we are grateful for. While it’s always embarrassing and full of groans, I love the vulnerability in each person as they recount what the last year has meant to them and what the people both physically and figuratively at that table mean to them.

So, whether everyone is at your physical table this year or not, remember who really belongs there and what they mean to you. God has given me some amazing people around my table and I don’t take that for granted for a second. If your table doesn’t look the way you want it, choose those who display those qualities I mentioned above. Life and the people in it are such a gift and while our time is so precious in this busy chaotic world, don’t forget to stop and remind the people around you what a blessing they are. Have a beautiful Thanksgiving friends!