Let It Steep

I love having a hot beverage in the morning, especially if I have a rough nights sleep. Right now, I am not drinking any coffee because it has been throwing off my circadian rhythm. In its place, I have been indulging in hot tea! Between my beloved earl grey and my last box of Barry's Irish tea, I have been in hot tea heaven.

This morning, different from previous mornings, I decided to make an entire teapot full of a mixture of the two aforementioned teas. It was just one of those mornings where I had to peel myself out of bed. Something about the strong flavor of the two teas kicks my rear into gear; I'm ready to greet the day of mommying and working.

There was just one problem, a entire teapot takes almost thrice as long to steep as opposed to a small cup. I must admit, at times, my patience tends to run thin with some of the trivial, day-to-day "tasks." In my hurry, I decided to pour a cup in hopes it was ready. Guess what? It was weak and bland. All I could taste was the packet of splenda, not the aromatic beaugermont flavors from the earl grey tea. What an absolute waste. Or was it?

As I stood there, impatiently waiting for more water to boil to top off the teapot, the Holy Spirit began to speak in that still, small voice. Honestly, I wasn't ready for a lesson from a simple act of impatience. I still hadn't fully woken up. Yet, in the kitchen, with the kids making noise in the background, the Holy Spirit spoke a much needed "word."

"Heidi, life is kind of like that teapot. You are ready for a cup of tea; you are waiting for it to do its thing. But you have to let the leaves steep in the hot water long enough to get it right. No one likes weak tea. No one enjoys weak tea. If you pour it too soon, it won't be strong enough, it won't be what you wanted either. You can wait. You can let it steep for the right amount of time to yield the perfect 'cup of tea' you are desiring. Or you can allow your impatience to get the best of you. The tea will be weak; the tea will not be what you wanted at the get-go."

You may be asking yourself, "what in the world does tea and the Holy Spirit have to do with each other?" Good question! Let me give you some insight. Right now, there are a few situations that I am struggling with impatience. I feel like I am in an ER waiting room, waiting on that poor, overworked nurse to call my name to be seen. If you have ever had to wait in the ER, bless you, it is the literal pits.

There is a lot of uncertainty with the future, or so it feels. What will I do? How will I provide? Am I doing life right? The questions of life tend to plague me more than I like to admit, especially since losing my husband. I am eager for answers; I am eager for the next steps. But that eagerness, although mostly coming from a pure place, can bring forth impatience. And impatience can bring forth an unwanted harvest. Trust me, I have had to walk that road before. Not fun!

It reminds me a lot of Abraham and Sarah (formally known as Abram and Sarai for all you Bible scholars)! Boy did they get impatient, and it kind of made a mess of things. When God first called Abraham (Gen. 12), he was 75 years old. Promising to make this sonless man a great nation. If you ask me, it was time to enjoy those retirement years, but the LORD had different plans. Just a few chapters later (ch. 15 to be exact), we see the LORD making a covenant with Abraham, that his offspring will be numbered like the stars. But there was a problem! He was OLD and had no children, none of these offspring that the LORD mentioned.

This caused some trouble. Abraham and his wife didn't "let the teapot steep" long enough. In their impatience, Sarah, had Abraham sleep with her servant, Hagar. This servant bore a son, Ishmael. What happened? Did this fix all of Abraham's offspring problems? Nope! It created more problems for everyone involved. Without going down a rabbit whole, a nation was birthed through Hagar. A nation that to this day would be enemies to Abraham and Sarah's line. They were impatient with the Lord's promises. And in place of waiting, they birthed something that was not what God intended (Gen. 16). And they hurt Hagar and Ishmael along the way.

We do see that the LORD did remain faithful, in spite of their impatience and faithlessness. Abraham, through a literal miracle, became a father to Isaac at 100 years old (Gen. 21). The Lord did redeem he and Sarah's foolishness. But there were still repercussions to their actions. They should have waited and just "let the tea finish steeping." We learn a valuable lesson through these two people, patience is key. Impatience tends to lead to disobedience and chaos.

Through that still, small voice, the Holy Spirit reminded me to be patient in my waiting, with my lack of answers to the questions I keep asking. He reminded me that, yes, I could have that "cup of tea" now, but I won't enjoy it very much. It would be weak and not ready. The process of what my heart desires WILL get delayed. I really don't want that! And I sure don't want to birth something that was not intended for me to birth.

I say all of this to encourage you! Many of us are in the season of waiting. Seasons where we have these desires (good and pure desires) and we have well-intentioned questions. It would be so easy to rush the process, hoping for the expected outcome, only to be disappointed. However, our impatience may just cost us the very thing we are praying for. It will bring unnecessary pain to ourselves and potentially others (check out the rest of Hagar's story).

I leave you with this scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:8 “The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride.” Let that "tea steep," don't try to rush the Lord's plan for your life. Moment-by-moment, be obedient, always listening for that still, small voice. The Lord is faithful to lead you, to guide you, and to bless your patience.