Unwelcome Guests at the Table

A woman named Nancy is putting the finishing touches on her Christmas dinner when she receives an unwanted visitor. Fear, personified as an obnoxious and unwelcome guest, appears at her table and takes a seat. He is soon joined by Stress and Consumerism, and the three of them make Nancy feel worried, insecure, and discontent. They speak so convincingly and attack her weaknesses so effectively that she almost doesn’t realize how they are stealing her peace and robbing her joy. However, she eventually realizes that she has a choice in letting them be guests at her table. She forces them to leave. When they do, Joy, Peace, and Contentment enter—the kind of guests she wants to have at her table. This story acts as an analogy of what happens when we let fear, stress, and consumerism dictate our own lives, but also declares that we have a choice in whether or not they take up residence in our minds.

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Age level: Upper elementary to adult

Length: 6 minutes

Cast: 7 actors