Teatime

Do you have a ritual that brings you comfort or peace? Maybe it’s listening to the birds in the morning. Or perhaps it’s working on a project car, the greasier your hands the better. I like to enjoy my morning coffee on the porch with my devotional and my Bible. I watch my dogs play in the yard, listen to bird songs, enjoy the crisp morning air in late winter, spring, and fall. I need those few minutes of peace and time with the Lord to set the pace and tone of my day.

There are other activities that bring a sense of fulfillment too. Teatime is one of them. I don’t do it every day, and it’s not a mealtime like in the UK. An afternoon of strife or feeling poorly can be made a little better simply by choosing a tea and sipping a warm cup in quietness.

Then there is the tea party. It’s become a staple among church ladies over the last forty years. It’s fun. It’s refreshing. It’s a sweet time of fellowship and usually includes good testimony or teaching. I absolutely delight in attending a tea party. I come away at the end always feeling uplifted and loved in a wonderful manner.

I attended one of these church tea parties last weekend with my sister, Ginny, at her church. I don’t know the women in that church. It’s almost 2 hours away from my home. So, it took a good portion of my day. It was still a wonderful time of refreshment and fellowship, worship and teaching, and a lot of good food. I hope I’m invited next year. (hint hint)

Teatime requires one to slow down, relax, sit still for a few minutes and enjoy the people you are with at the table. It means letting go of the pressures of what needs to be done at home. Focusing on the people in front of you, sipping that warm liquid gold, and laughing or crying together brings a sense of community, or what we call fellowship in the Body of Christ.

It doesn’t have to be a tea party. It could be a game on tv, a hike in the woods with someone else, a community garden project working side by side with a new neighbor, or so many other activities. I encourage you to find what helps you to let go and enjoy life for a few minutes, find some peace, connect to others, or simply spend time with God.

One of the most precious blessings to come from last weekend’s tea was time with my sister. We weren’t always as close, although we loved one another. In the past few years and especially this last year, our relationship has blossomed into a friendship, and I treasure her and the time I have to spend with her. I came home refreshed and refilled with the bonus of time with my baby sister. I believe when we spend time slowing down, we are often blessed with unexpected or even expected good things from the Lord.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer

And that’s the point, gathering around good teaching, one another, a meal, and prayer. This is what the life of a follower of Jesus looks like. It doesn’t have to look exactly like first century gatherings. Sometimes it can look a little more like teatime.