I met Jackie Roese on my birthday in 2008.  They had just moved into a new townhome (as in moving that day) and Gregg offered to bring over a meats and cheese tray so they could take a break from unpacking.  We had just started attending IBC.  Gregg had heard about Water is Basic and introduced himself to Steve.  Jackie had just preached from the pulpit for the first time.  (I didn’t know that was a big deal at the time.)  Bryan and Alison were helping them unpack.  Kelly came a bit later.  This was my first experience with the ‘Art of the Roese’s table’.  I had never sat around a table (or in any space) and had the type of discussions, interactions, expressed compassion, encouragement, understanding, acceptance, faith and hope.  It was a night that changed our lives forever.

As I get older, I realize there are moments that have defined my life.  Some so big that they leave a stamp on my soul.  A lot are traumatic, sad and shocking and yet a lot are invigorating, exciting and surprising.   All are life changing.  The Roese’s table is one of those life altering Stamps.

I left their house that night in 2008 with two comments to Gregg.  One, I really like those people. And two (the one that still follows me around), I think I could be friends with Jackie if she just didn’t talk about Jesus so much.  Little did I know…that was impossible.  And little did I know that I needed her to talk about Jesus, to explain him to me and to guide me through understanding the Bible and the God she so loved.

The Beauty and Art of the Roese Table was not in the style of the legs or color of the paint.  It was in the people that sat around that table and have sat around that table for years.  It was in the openness, acceptance, emotions, challenges and heart at that table.

Great art inspires and evokes emotion and thought.  I am thankful for the Art of the Roese Table.   I have no doubt the next table, that is set in Austin, will provide the same beauty and I can’t wait to visit it.

The family was an art…and the dinner table was the place it found expression.

–Don DeLillo