There is nothing like a hot cup of coffee, or in my case, a pot of coffee in the morning. If the first cup is wonderful, then each cup thereafter gets better, right until the very last drop.
Come the afternoon however, I switch to tea. No flavors, no milk, no sugar. Just good, hot and black tea.
The other day, while watching my tea steep, I remembered a familiar saying:
“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Looking back to my cup of tea,ĆĀ gently lifting the bag up and down, watching the water turn a deeper color and I anticipate the comforting flavor.
We really are a lot like my teabag …
“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
(Luke 6:45, NLT)
Let’s say the hot water represents a difficult or challenging situation in our lives. Our lives are the teabags. We each have opportunity to release into the water the flavor of our choosing, for what is inside will come out in the water.
The same water, aka the difficult situation, will bring out something different in each of us. Will we choose to …
- lash out in anger or bitterness?
- spew hurtful words?
- respond with a cold shoulder?
Or will we respond with gracious, kind, and loving words and gestures?
We get to choose our response.
Our response will depend on what we have chosen to deposit into our hearts.
Let’s choose wisely. Our hearts are a treasury. They store up and disburse. We will disburse only that which we have stored up in days past. From our hearts will emerge what we have taken in and treasured.
May we remember –
What’s in the tea bag will come out in the water.
Today I am joining … #DreamTogether and Moments of Hope and Inspire Me Monday and Glimpses .
Your words today remind me to ask God to search my heart and choose wisely as I navigate all the many issues a day and a week can bring. I pray I do choose wisely!
Wonderful message to start the week!
As I sit with a cup of tea in front of me this afternoon, my own words come back as a reminder. Praying we both choose wisely!
Love this, Joanne! I don’t drink coffee, but I start every morning with hot tea and honey. Then I drink cold decaf tea the rest of the day. I love how you tied it into this wonderful verse about our heart’s treasure. Blessings to you!
Thank you, Sarah. It is often in the daily small occurrences that I find God teaches me the best lessons.
I start out with coffee and switch to tea. Decaf both, but both strong, black, and plain. Praying the treasure of my heart always shows joy and trust in God.
We both take our tea and coffee exactly the same. And your heart has been a display of trust and joy repeatedly.
Wow this quote stopped me in my tracks. Thanks so much for sharing, for making me stop and think. It’s powerful and true.
Meg, as I sit here this afternoon with my tea in front of me, I am again reminded of the quote. May God strengthen us both so that we rise above the situations we find challenging. Thank you for encouraging me today!
You know I am going to remember this tonight when I make my tea! And that is a good thing – thanks! Have a wonderful week ahead!
Never heard that saying from Eleanor Roosevelt before, but it is so true. I love tea and drink some almost every day. Thanks for the wonderful analogy. I will be thinking of my heart when I am drinking my tea.
This has been a difficult year for this: “We get to choose our response.” But we’ve had lots of opportunities to practice it! š I’ve often been disappointed in the responses I’ve chosen and want to grow in doing better. Thanks for the encouragement to do so, Joanne.
I am drinking a cup of tea as I read this. š
Making mine right now š xo
We can’t chose what happens to us, just our reactions to it. Can’t ever forget that!
Given how often I drink tea each day, I am so glad God provides examples for me in my daily life to remind me.