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From Family Promise February/March Update:
A Table
A table. A simple kitchen table with mix-matched chairs. A second-hand table, selected from the available options at Habitat ReStore. It’s not much to look at. In fact, it, and the chairs that surround it, were given away by someone else, probably replaced by newer, more trendy editions.
It’s just an old table. Or is it.
Actually, this is a picture of a dream come true. It is the centerpiece of a home. A family of nine, once experiencing homelessness, now has a home that contains this table. But it is not just a table, it is a place that is large enough for the whole family to gather around for a meal – a breakfast before school, lunch on the weekends, family dinners each evening. It’s not just a table, it’s conversations, it’s wisdom passed down through generations, it’s laughter, it’s family game night, it’s homework-central, it’s late-night-heart-to-heart chats, it’s tangible love.
A table, yes, but it is also the hub of a home.
We often take our tables for granted. But for this family, who has not been able to sit down for a meal together at the same time for over seven months, this represents a dream come true.
It represents home.
It represents family.
It represents the love of a community that surrounded them when they were at their lowest, when they had no hope, when they were out of options.
It represents Family Promise of Athens.
It represents our many volunteers who have provided meals, beds, a warm, safe place to sleep. It represents a community of support. It represents everyone who has volunteered with and donated to FPA for the past seven months.
A table, yes, but oh so much more.
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