single-minded

Tea Time is a quarterly (February, May, August, and November) reflection on various qualties.

Sim*plic*i*Tea \sim-ˈpli-sə-tē, -ˈplis-tē\  n- 1. The lack of complexity or difficulty, plain, uncomplicated like a bag of Lipton.

Taking my Bible, tea, and toast to the patio for my usual breakfast meeting with God, I plopped it all down and sighed over my to-do list that lacked margins.

“Simplicity, Lord, I long for simplicity. What do I quit? What should I quit doing? How long can I keep spinning all these plates before they crash on my head? Help!”

I paused to listen.

          Silence. I didn’t hear the still, small voice I had hoped would whisper in my heart. No impressions or verses popped in my head, nothing.

 So, I opened my Bible to read, seeking a solution to my problematic business. A familiar buzz distracted me from reading. I looked toward the sound; sparkling ruby throat feathers caught my gaze. Then God’s gentle voice whispered to my soul, “You asked Me for simplicity. Watch this hummingbird. Let Me show you something better.”

          I watched intently. The first thing I noticed was how still the body of the bird was. It just hung there fixed in mid-air. Then I studied its wings or at least the blurred traces of them. Hummingbird wings move with such rapid motion that it produces that loud buzz, but the movement is not frantic. It’s controlled and rhythmic. Is it any wonder these tiny creatures eat pure sugar? That led to my next observation; the bird had its long beak buried in a flower sipping long and deep of the nectar within.

          “I AM your sustenance. Feed on Me. Keep your heart still and focus on Me. Then I will strengthen you and sustain you in the constant activities I give you to do for My glory.”

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful. Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42.

          I wanted less. God wanted to give me more—Himself, His power, His grace, His peace. I wanted plain. He gave me something extravagant—the “one thing.” Jesus is that One thing; His Word, His presence. Going out to my patio that morning was like going into a fine tea shop and asking the retailer for a bag of Lipton. Instead, the retailer poured me a fine cup of Ceylon steeped from loose leaf. I asked for simplicity; God served me singularity instead.

Sisters, when we feel squeezed by the demands and responsibilities of life, when we crave simplicity, let’s choose “that good part which will not be taken away”; let’s focus on the One who holds it all together.