The Value of a Cup of Tea

Have you noticed the days are getting shorter, and the morning air is a bit crisper? Fall is here! Thanksgiving is around the corner and all the stores are beginning to stock up for Christmas. The Holiday season is upon us; unfortunately, that usually means instead of taking time to rest, we get even busier.

We have too much to do, too many people to take care of, too many things needing to get done. That has been one of the biggest battles of my life. I have a heart that loves to give and to serve, but also one that has taken a very long time to learn to say no. God has allowed several occasions to come in my life when my health has crashed because I was over committed, doing too much. Each time I thought I had learned my lesson.

Shortly after my daughter was born, I learned I had inherited another family trait, low thyroid. It wasn’t discovered until I was in a deep clinical depression. My pastor advised me, along with my doctor’s treatment, to sleep when I needed it, and to make sure I had daily recreation. He asked me what things I did that I enjoyed, reading, crafts? I replied that I had no time for any of the things I enjoyed to do. I had four children. I was home schooling them. I had duties. His reply was that I needed that time of recreation for my renewal. I needed that “cup of tea” to build my reserves to be able to serve my family, or I would continue in the cycle of collapse.

I thank Our Lord all the time for my wise Pastor. Jesus got through to me that last time and I finally learned that my daily Word time and Tea time are necessary to keep my life in balance.

I can hear many questions coming at me on just how to get your time in the word daily, especially from those of you with small children. Please remember, God’s Word is living and active. It is living food for your life and your spirit. Some may not agree with me on this, but I have seen God sustain me and grow my children over the years through what I have done. In the younger years, I simply read the Word to my children (baby- about 3^rd). We would read a chapter a day, through a whole book. Then we would pray together. As they got older, we would discuss the chapter after reading it. They would also get to choose the books we would read through. In the Jr. and Sr. High years, we study inductively together. So, yes, most of my Word time is with my children. I also read through the bible, but I don’t make it in a year, and I don’t get to it everyday.

So, am I in the Word everyday, yes It is the Bread of Life. Am I alone with It, no. Am I alone with God everyday, yes. I tend to run an ongoing dialogue with the Lord throughout my day. I don’t know when that began, but that is how my life is.

The busy Holiday season is upon us, are you ready for it? Have you developed a habit of little tea breaks in your busy day? Have you begun to look at you Father’s world through the eyes of your child? Push through with those in this harried time don’t let go of the knowledge that He came to give us a light burden when we are yoked with Him.