About six years ago, I found the tiny porcelain tea set that I had been given as a child. It brought back so many wonderful memories. My sister and I would dress up, have our stuffed animals play along, and if we were lucky, our little brothers would join. We usually had water in the tiny cups, but once in awhile, Mom would make us tea and let us have cream and sugar. Those times were so special! As an adult, I still liked tea, but any hot drink was a good way to relax and just take time to be still.
When I pulled the tea set out of the old box, I found myself wishing I had a real tea set. Oddly though, I felt the strong urge to hold off—to not buy one right now. It seemed strange, but I decided to wait. I wrapped up each cup, saucer, and the tiny pot, and put them back into the box.
The thought to purchase a tea set has crossed my mind on numerous occasions over the years. Last fall, my two little boys, after quite a while of seeing their mom drink hot tea or coffee, were intrigued. I’d catch them sneaking up on me as I was reading or praying at the table—with my hot drink. My almost four year old at the time finally asked, “Can you give us some of that tea and we drink it with you? Can we just have a tea party together? I’ll bring my book, too.”
Well if that didn’t melt my heart right there, I don’t know what would have. Of course I jumped on this request, fully knowing that it may be a disaster, but that no matter what, it would be a good memory with my boys. Surprisingly, they loved it. This past fall and winter season, we had tea, hot chocolate or hot apple cider together on many occasions. It was so special! It was time to be still. We could talk, make faces at each other through the steam coming up from the cups, and just have fun.
So naturally, I reasoned that if my little boys were drinking tea with me, maybe now was time to get a tea set. As I started to shop again, I found one. It was beautiful, and everything I had imagined. This was it, and I almost clicked, “purchase.” In that moment, a shooting pain went through my hand that took my finger away from the purchase button on my screen. It was strange. Then the words, “Haste makes waste” crossed my mind as words my grandfather would often say to us as kids. I could hear him chuckle as I remembered. Well what timing. I closed the iPad as one of my boys awoke from his nap, and that was the end of that. That was mid-January of 2023.
Fast forward to our current month, April. It was a beautiful sunny weekend, and I found myself at Divine Truth, a new favorite bookstore of mine since the closing of Parables a couple years ago. As I was browsing, I heard the familiar voice of my mother. “Hi!” she said. “You had the same idea today too, huh?” That lady will always brighten my day. What a fun surprise!
As we walked together, I was reminded of the hundreds of times I’d pop into Parables while Mom was working. Sometimes she’d come shop with me, or during busy times, she would just smile and wave.
As we walked to the gift section, something caught my eye on the shelf. Something purple, petite, and beautiful. A little tea cup, a pot, and saucer. As I approached it, I saw a beautiful floral pattern on the cup, and a very familiar Bible verse with the words, “Be still and know.” An all-time favorite of mine. One that, since January of this year, God has placed on my heart at the most opportune times.
“Is that it, Christine?” She asked.
“What, Mom?”
“Your tea set. You’ve looked for years. I’ve looked too for you. Never the right one. But I think this is it, don’t you?”
I paused a moment. There was a peace I hadn’t felt yet, but here it was.
“Yes,” the words came out of my mouth. “This is it.”
“It’s beautiful. Use that gift card I gave you for Christmas this year. I know you haven’t used it yet.” She said. “This is from me.”
If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you probably know that my favorite color is purple. You know that I’ve looked for years for a tea set, but I’ve felt silly about it because there is nothing girly, cute, or frilly about my life (which I’m ok with). Psalm 41:10 is not only one of my favorite verses, but also one that God used to save my life in a near-drowning accident 15 years ago this June. So, to find this tea “set for one”, at this exact time, was a little dream come true.
Yesterday I poured my first cup of blueberry lavender (which happens to be a purple color) tea into my new cup. I was going to write, and had decided to start my next journal, since my current one was just about full. To my surprise, the journal I had bought almost two years prior, had the words, “Be still and know” on the front of it. There was a striking resemblance to my recently purchased tea set. Upon opening the journal, I was surprised to find that it was not actually empty. It had a years worth of journal entries—prayers, verses, sermon notes, etc. I had completely forgotten. So, instead of writing yesterday, I began to read those entries. You know when God speaks so directly and clearly to you, that there is no question it is Him? I could write an entirely new blog of how He spoke to my heart yesterday, how He answered prayers, and reminded me of very specific promises that I needed.
God’s timing is perfect. I truly believe that even for small things, like purchasing a tea set, when He says wait, we must wait. Six years to purchase a tea set may seem silly to some, but it will be of deep meaning to me for the rest of my life. God paused my near-purchase clicking in mid-January for a reason. Little did I know of the things he would be doing in my heart and life from then until now, and that waiting on this simple thing would be worthwhile. He brought this cup and a “new” journal back into my life at the perfect time, on the perfect day.
God’s timing is perfect. Waiting is rarely ideal, but is worthwhile. We may never understand why God says to wait, but we know we can trust His plans. Take time to be still. Know that He is God, and He is good.