A Desire for Communion - The Last Supper

I lean against the stonewall with empty sap buckets and my husband’s boots too big for my narrow feet, waiting for him to pick me up in the UTV.  A country style date at its finest.  I’m not ashamed to say I look forward to our time together even if it involves my dirtiest jeans and a pair of oil-stained work gloves.  
The layered stones chill through my coat as I wait and listen for the far-off rumble of the side-by-side engine, shifting my weight from one oversized boot to the next.  

The verse rolls back to me from my morning reading done by lamp and wood stove light. The verse that caught my gaze and quilted itself around my heart, framing a picture of Jesus in his final hours, surpassing the famous paintings I’ve seen through the thin lens of the human eye. The last supper will always be best painted in my mind through these words in Luke.  ​

“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Luke 22:14-15

I read it morning after morning for a week and let the sacred words on paper mix with the realness of His Spirit living inside me and I am moved to a moment of worship in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24). 

And then I’m stuck on the idea…”awe-stuck”, that Jesus would have often thought about that last meal with excited anticipation, for years maybe, eagerly ready to prepare the disciple's hearts, but fully obedient to God’s timing. I close my eyes and imagine the moment he stood and wrapped the towel around his waist after countless opportunities to wash their feet over the years, this act was to be saved for His final hours giving the disciples the tender memory of His touch before His departure. The blessedness of that last supper astounds me time after time.  

The red buggy pulls up beside me and out jumps my husband to help load supplies. Our happily matching crows feet flash simultaneously as we smile at each other for the millionth time over the past 16 years.  We still long for time together and I wonder if it’s exactly the picture of Jesus’ desire to commune with us? If He looks forward to our morning quiet time alone with Him, or the planned prayer time at the footboard of our children’s beds, even the routine of Thursday afternoon's grocery run when He and I never fail to be together.  

Could He be saying to you too, “I’ve earnestly desired to eat this meal with you.” ​

I believe so.