Hey Mom, do you have a tea cup I could use? Ashley needs one as part of an object lesson in her message today?
The text message blinked across my Fitbit as I prepared to leave for the Florida District Ladies Conference.
Ummm, let me check...
How's this?
A picture of a teapot with detachable teacup emerges on her phone.
Perfect. Thanks!
The texted question came from my daughter Hannah as she assisted her friend Ashley, who soon would be addressing a young female audience. What will her topic be? Quickly wrapping the cup to avoid damage, I headed out the door to my car and arrived in enough time to check for lint, and smooth out wrinkles. I handed over the cup to an assistant and took a seat near the back.
Waiting for the service to begin, I thought about the tea cup, it had been in our family for a number of years. It actually was a gift to Hannah, but when she moved to Chicago a few years earlier, it was left behind. Placed on a shelf, the teacup stayed in her old room for a while, unused. I sometimes dusted around it thinking about how lovely it was. Still, it just sat there.
After the conference was over the teacup was returned to me in a small bag. Once home, I placed it back on the mantle where it'd been for some time. As I thought about the teacup, God began speaking to my heart.
Unlike other teacups which held various kinds of teas, this teacup was going to used in a unique way. The Spirit of God spoke to me and said, "The teacup sat for months, even years, seemingly unnoticed but I never forgot about it. I placed it carefully aside, for a season, to use it for this purpose."
I stood motionless as the weighted words rested in my soul. God's timeline is careful, purposeful and uniquely tailored to our gifts and talent. Even the timing of a tea cup.
Then I began to think of biblical stories where common items were used in a different manner. Moses' rod is one of those. I reread Exodus chapter four with a fresh perspective and observed the most interesting thing about Moses' rod: it carried with it an unmistakeable anointing! When Moses doubted his calling, God asked him,
"What is in thine hand?" He replied,
"A rod."
His answer was simple; Moses carried a useful common tool. God took the simple functionality of his staff and wrapped an anointing around it to use if for a greater purpose. Greater than fielding sheep, or leading people, Moses' rod gave freedom to people who would have otherwise remained slaves. Exodus 14:16. What a neat example of a simple tool being used in a unique way!
As I continued through the rest of my afternoon, I couldn't help but think about the speaker, the message, and the teacup. Ashley reminded us to guard ourselves against the convenience and ease of just going with the flow. Red Soho cups are disposable, but fine china is meant to have lasting value.Tea cups are meant to hold warm and flavorful teas. But today, the tea cup held the hearts and attention of young ladies desiring to be changed by God.
Who would've ever thought that an ordinary teacup would be called to serve in such a unique way?
