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Teatime Tuesday—Just One Cup
It was one of those seasons of life: financial pressures, my teens’ hormones and emotions abundant, exhaustion from 2 children with the stomach flu, a house moving towards chaos, piles starting to build up—you know this sort of season. It was one of those times I felt discouraged to my toenails and wondered, “Does anyone care how much I give every day to keep us all afloat? Is anything I am doing making a difference in anyone’s life?”
I walked downstairs and heard music playing. As I turned to the living room, I saw candles lit, my favorite blue cup steaming with tea. What? A mirage?
A Clarkson child emerged, pajama’d but smiling: “This tea is for you. Read the note! We promise we will give you 30 minutes by yourself!”
The note read,
“Dearest Mama,
"I have watched you care for the kids with flu, making dinner last night, going to each bedroom to pray and bless, constantly giving out. I knew you were exhausted. You give so much to us every day. We don’t notice and forget to thank you. I thought you might like a cup of tea by yourself before you started your day. We love you lots, mama!”
Tears spilled over my cheeks. I didn’t know how much I needed just a little bit of sympathy—to be seen, to feel my service to my sweet ones actually mattered and was making a difference.
Just that little cup of tea and half hour changed my whole feeling about life. Somehow, it felt less weighty, more possible.
My life hasn’t changed much. My sweet ones still have needs, issues, wants, and require a lot of me. But over years, I have realized how much just a little act of thoughtfulness, a few moments to refresh, has taken me through many seasons to give me what I needed to take one more step, to be faithful one more day. Recently, Sarah whisked me into the living room and said, “Let’s have a cup of tea and be friends for a few moments!” We sipped away. I remembered this day from long ago.
When Jesus said, “whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward,” I’m quite sure He also had in mind "whoever gives a steaming cup of tea!”
Happy Wednesday, friends.
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