I just returned to my laptop after brewing a cup of herbal tea and I want to share the experience with you.
The “steeping" tea in my cup is a new flavor of buttermint tea that I have not enjoyed before. Honestly, I have never heard of buttermint so I didnt know what to expect when I selected it from my little tea box that sits near my desk. I have been pleasantly surprised already by what I have found. The smells of peppermint and vanilla are crossing my desk toward me and reminding me that tea is a wonderful creation. I still have three more minutes to wait until I can enjoy this tea, and I know that before you finish reading this ’thought’ I will be sipping the tea with you.
I have enjoyed tea for a long time. I don’t remember exactly when I began to appreciate and enjoy it, but it is part of my psyche now. It was probably some point when I sampled tea on a Disney vacation, and stopped in the Twinning Tea Shop for the first time, that the love of tea entered my heart. The shop where I get a lot of my tea is located in EPCOT’s England Pavilion and offers more tea that I could imagine. Over the years I have bought a lot of varieties of tea from this store. My children even shop for Father’s Day there for me from time to time because they know that whatever the find in the store, I will love. . .
The process of gathering my supplies to enjoy some tea is also fun. It feels like I am making a magical potion that I know will touch the corners of my soul profoundly.
From my bag I produce a bottle of honey that was a recent gift from a friend and I set it next to the spoon that I will stir the tea with. The honey is lighter in color that I normally see from the market where I buy honey for tea. This makes me think that this honey will be special somehow but I don’t have a clue how. The bottle is very plain and has no special target marketing to speak of on it. Next, I heat the water by passing it through my old Keurig until the cup is full. Finally, I place the Twinnings Tea bag into my new favorite cup from Laurel, Mississippi that my mother got me on a trip a few months ago.
As I breathe in to enjoy the first sip of tea I can smell the powerful peppermint hitting my nose. It opens my nasal passages and I can feel peppermint in the back of my mouth. For many people tea is just something that they drink occasionally, as you can see, that is not true for me.
While sipping my tea I was reminded of the words of Barbara Holmes as she remembered a story from her youth. Her story reflected on the convergence point of growing up in the south where remedies for ‘what ailed ya’ could be found in the woods. She talked about the local teas that her aunt would brew in their kitchen and marveled at how the person seemed to recover by ingesting some odd concoction of herbs, berries, and twigs that were combined with hot water.
But it was the next part of her story that caught my heart. She wrote:
“Everyone knew when someone was sick, and so the healing process became the interest of all members of the community. Since there was no health insurance, no money for medicine or doctors, it was in everyone’s best interest for Aunt Beck (the tea brewer I add) to succeed. And so a great deal of attention was lavished on the ailing person. As a consequence, it is impossible to determine whether healing occurs because of the medicinal effects of the herbs or the solicitous concern of the community. . . These stories of a reality where healing became a tangible activity included their awareness not just of Aunt Becky’s herbal ministrations and the prayers of the community but also of the spirit of the . . . divine messenger.”
So many of us are consumed with one aspect of healing—the physical. This is certainly the presenting issues of many days in our world and I am grateful to have a group of good medical doctors that I visit when I need them. But I wonder what might happen when we stop and notice the spiritual, presence, aspect of healing that Barbara speaks about in the church?
Let me say again: a warm glass of tea is no substitute for competent medical treatment and care, but the presence around that cup, the willingness to linger with someone longer than the prescribe 15 minutes at a local doctor’s appointment, and the ability to listen are crucial I think in healing. Perhaps that moment, around that cup of tea, carries with it a chance for healing and peace?
Maybe God has laid it upon your heart today to dwell with someone a bit longer. If that is so then try having a glass of tea with them and notice how the Holy Spirit shows up. . .
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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