Stay Off the Table! (10/010/2026)

My older sister, Betty, and I spoke on the phone almost every day. Over the years, we developed our own code for things, a verbal shorthand that we understood but few others did. One such code phrase was “Stay off the table.”

My niece had a special dog named Sophie who was smart and spirited and stubborn, a dangerous combination. She didn’t like being left alone; so, my sister, Betty, dog sat Sophie while my niece was at work. Occasionally, even my sister had to run an errand or leave for a few minutes. When she returned, Sophie was always on top of the table, barking. While her stubbornness had found a way to get up, the descent was too scary. Sophie was stuck in a pickle of her own making.

Sophie’s behavior became code for us to not let our own willfulness and stubbornness get us in a bind we couldn’t get out of.  We’d often end our daily conversation with the expression, “Stay off the table.”

I’m a very observant person, and I see the “Sophie Syndrome” happening frequently in our modern world with people, myself sometimes included. Our free will is a gift that we don’t always use wisely. We can get ourselves into real pickles through our choices, situations we find difficult to get out of once we’re there. Yet, even in these situations, the LORD is there. More accurately, especially in these situations, the LORD is there. We can turn to the LORD for direction, we can ask for help. Jesus included the prodigal son in His parables because He understood our penchant for choosing poorly and the Almighty Father’s unfathomable mercy.

As we journey in faith, hope, and love, let us begin each day in prayer seeking the LORD’s direction, the LORD’s will for us and for our world. At the top of the prayer, let us implore the LORD to send the Spirit to give us the grace of cooperation, the ability to set down our will for that of the LORD. Let us look to the life and example of our beloved Savior as we seek to make our way. Let us trust that even when we can’t see the LORD, the LORD is with us.

And whatever may come today, let us “Stay off the table.”

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.