I am becoming quite an expert in drinking cold tea. I am not referring to
iced tea, a refreshing drink that I discovered first in America… no I mean good
old fashioned tea… that has just got cold. I’m drinking some now, as it
happens. One of the problems is that I don’t really mind cold tea, but it is
not a good thing to be drinking too much of it!
I am
drinking cold tea, because I am distracted. I set out well, I plan things
carefully, the cup and the kettle are all brought together in a perfectly
brewed symphony of organisation but then it all goes wrong.. I am distracted
here or there and an hour or so later I wander past and spot a cool cup of tea.
At which point I decide if I try and make another one, I am just as likely to
drink that cold so I gulp it down. This
habit of distractedness is not a good thing, it is symptomatic of a life that is
unfocused and so I must make amends. But changing habits is not very easy at
all. Children go through enormous stress simply at the thought of not sucking
their thumb. Or adults can get confused if a particular rhythm is disrupted. I
remember my mother had actual palpitations at the thought of missing her
favourite TV program. (She was once reluctant to speak to me on the phone,
simply because I interrupted her from watching Countdown. I wouldn’t have
minded but I was ringing her to tell her I was engaged to be married… and she
was watching Countdown.. on VIDEO!)
I
believe that the Christian life ought to become a habit for us, a way of life,
a rhythm that gives meaning and order to our lives. Of course the easiest way
for it to become like this, would be if we abandoned the calls of the world and
all went off to live in monasteries where a bell would establish the rhythm of
eating, sleeping, work and prayer. For most of us this will not be possible, but
it is interesting to experience this rhythm if taking a retreat or a short
break as I did last year on my sabbatical… no cold tea that week! In normal life we will still face the
distractions and opportunities that for me at least, leave that tea cold! How
can I change and develop habits that leave me able to savour my tea, and truly
experience all the other opportunities I often miss. I think the answer begins
in confession, an acknowledgement that things are not right, cold tea is not
good tea! Confession is not simply about accepting that something isn’t right,
it is also to be accountable that you want to change. Hence I am confessing to
you my desire to re-order my life around hot tea! (Actually I’d really like to
see my life re-ordered around the values of God’s Kingdom… but warm tea seems
like a manageable first step!) Finding someone or a group who can help us to
make the transitions we need is vital if we are not to keep on making the same
mistakes. People who have an inkling of what a balanced way of life might look
like are very valuable. If we can find such people then we need to be prepared
to make ourselves accountable to them. Hence I make myself accountable to you, I must
drink no more cold tea, but rather slow down and savour and enjoy all the
opportunities that God places before us.
Stephen
