Time for Tea...

As far back as I can remember my grandma had a beautiful collection of dainty teacups. When spring break or Christmas vacation would roll around us kids would be shipped off to her house and I would head straight for those colorful cups and saucers. Over the years she'd given up trying to clean them, the arthritis that curled her fingers in like talons made it nearly impossible to wash one without dropping it. Finally, when I was sixteen and had driven myself to her house I was deemed worthy.

The only thing I've ever washed more carefully than those teacups was my first newborn child.

After my grandma passed away all of us girls split the teacups amongst ourselves. The four that I chose were the beginnings of my own collection. I didn't really plan to have a teacup collection I just loved the four I had, but one day my mom noticed them and gave me two of hers. Then my aunt found out and she gave me one too. My husband, picking up on all my "oohing" and "aahing", began to buy them for Mother's day and birthdays and slowly my collection grew. So did the number of people buying them for me as my friends got in on the act too.

I decided that I had better somehow make note of who gave me what so I went through and labeled the bottom of each saucer (because I am getting old you know!) My grandma never used her teacups and except for our yearly Ladies Christmas Tea at church, neither did I. My daughters were much like me, always admiring from afar but never allowed to touch.

Something changed over the past year though. I have decided there is no point in having beautiful things if you're afraid to use them or share them with the ones you love.

~

Our church had a time period where we didn't have a youth group. Since my girls are at that early pre-teen/teen age I really wanted to make sure there was something happening for them regularly to focus on their spiritual growth so we came up with "Disciple Night". Originally the girls and I had planned to go to a coffee shop and have some time together praying and doing a book study. We've found that the intimacy of our dining room table creates a far sweeter time for us. We put piano music on the CD player, dim the lights and spend our discussion time in the flickering glow of candles. We drink tea and eat cookies or whatever other sweet confection is on hand and just enjoy the moment.

When we began doing this they used coffee mugs but tonight I told Jessica and Arielle to pick which teacup they wanted to use. The look in their eyes was a hard to describe combination of excitement, love, awe and a touch of reverence; probably the same look I had when I finally got to wash my grandma's teacups.

Jessica chose a gleaming white cup with one large pale blue rose edged with the tiniest bit of pink and accented with lush green leaves. Arielle's selection was a creamy colored cup with tiny rosebuds strewn all around it. The one spray of rosebuds inside the cup sets it apart. I was amused with how clearly their choices reflected their personalities. Jessica prefers understated elegance, feminine but classy. Arielle is a typical girly girl and loves pink and ruffles. I had a hard time choosing but in the end settled on a delicate alabaster white one decorated with small bouquets of roses trailing elegantly around it. I might be a bit of a girly girl myself. :)

We prayed together, read our chapter and discussed it and prayed again. We laughed and giggled, we talked about God and being content with what He's given us. We enjoyed each other immensely and when we were done we washed those cups and carefully put them back in their places.

I look at all those delicate, flowery teacups lining my mantle and covering our entertainment center. Perfectly positioned and placed exactly so; beautiful to look at but mostly unused. But when we washed them and brought them to the table and used them as they were intended, they turned an ordinary moment into something extraordinary.

Most of the women I know are like those teacups; they come in an array of beautiful shapes and colors with every flower imaginable represented. Some are being used in the capacity they were created for and they shine and sparkle with purpose. Others remain on the shelf, unaware of their latent beauty; thinking perhaps they resemble a coffee mug more than a finely detailed work of art. They watch the others; wishing and afraid to hope, not realizing that they too were created by the Master for a purpose.

True beauty isn't revealed by self help books, diets or because we've painted ourselves to look like what we think is acceptable. We will only recognize our worth when we see it revealed by Him. He created us exactly the way He wanted to and He doesn't make mistakes. He made you a beautiful work of art; will you allow Him to wash the dust and grime away to reveal the beauty He placed there?

He is worthy and I promise He won't drop you.