I grew up hating tea! The only kind that was ever around was Lipton, and nothing about it appealed to me. Even when it was infused with an obscene amount of sugar I thought it tasted terrible.
As a young adult I began to hear about all of the health benefits of green tea and was intrigued. I wanted the benefits but wasn’t sure how I was going to get past the disgusting taste.
After thinking about it long enough, I decided to take action and went to a specialty tea store, so that I could buy some high-quality green tea. I figured that if I started with a tea that had a history and was expensive, it might taste better.
The store felt like a museum, a pharmacy and a gourmet specialty shop all rolled into one. It smelled funny but in a good way. I’ve come to learn that you either love or hate that smell, and there is no in between.
I’m sure that the person who was helping me could see right away that I knew absolutely NOTHING about tea. I didn’t know where to begin looking, and I certainly didn’t know any questions to ask. I thanked them for offering to assist me and told them that I would just look around.
There were so many teas! I made my way to the green tea section and began to read the names. It was fun, but since I didn’t know anything about any of them I based my decision on one that made me think, “Maybe my husband would drink this one with me.” So I chose the Gunpowder Green.
I took my little prized package home and carefully and lovingly steeped my first cup of tea. I was so excited, and as I took my first sip, I was literally blown away—no pun intended! It was TERRIBLE!
I later learned that I had selected one of the harshest, most bitter varieties of green tea on the market. I was discouraged, but I wasn’t giving up. My sister was a true tea drinker, so I consulted with her. I read and studied and tried many teas. I took tea tours and began to grow herbs and flowers and make my own herbal tea blends. I was hooked!
I loved learning the agricultural side of how different countries grew this same plant—Camellia sinensis. I enthusiastically embraced the practice of tea time and made it a hobby to collect tea accouterments until my shelves were filled with their beauty.
I love the dancing of the leaves in hot water and the aromatic steam. The more I drank tea the more I appreciated everything about it.
I was, and still am amazed, that the leaves from this one plant can be dried, steamed, lightly pan-fired, rolled, fermented, oxidized, blended and packaged with always the same result—perfection. It’s such a simple thing—water with some leaves in it.
However, the flavor and health benefits that those leaves impart to the water when it is perfectly steeped are unmatched. The water becomes infused with the goodness, and something delicate and simple becomes something powerful and dynamic.
Isn’t our life in Christ very similar? When we allow Him to infuse our lives, the results can be spectacular. He’s the Master at taking the simplest things and turning them into a work that is wholesome and healing. He is the Giver of life and is able to fill our lives with more goodness than we could ever imagine.
Neh. 9:6 tells us that, “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens; The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.” He is an awesome God!
At my house we like to say, “Two cups of tea are better than one, but one cup of tea is better than none.” Today, is a great day to enjoy a cup of tea—or two and reflect on the good things that God has given to you.