A Very Spiritual Tea Party

Last updated on: November 4, 2023 at 2:00 pm by Beverly R. Green

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A Very Spiritual Tea Party 2023-11-04T14:00:18-04:00 Beverly R. Green

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My husband and I collect glass. He loves Depression Glass. I treasure my Candlewick. We don’t actively search for anything particular these days, but we delight in anything beautiful. I inherited many of my pieces, while he collected amazing items from around the world as he traveled during his career in the U. S. Army.

One of the most magnificent parts of our collection, in my opinion, is a china tea set from Germany. It has hand-painted roses on each piece and is overlaid in twenty-four karat gold-leaf paint. That tea set has a place of prominence on a glassed-in shelf in our living room wall unit, which also came from Germany.

A Surprising Decision

A day arrived when two of our granddaughters were spending time with us over a holiday, and they decided, as little girls do, that they would like to have a tea party, and not just any tea party, but they wanted to have it under the dining room table. I agreed. After all, I’m short and still in relatively good condition, adventurous, and most of the time, still a child at heart. I could join them and keep an eye on things. It sounded very Mary Poppins-esque, so I happily began to assemble the elements: cookies, pretty napkins, plates, cups …

Suddenly, into the kitchen walked my husband with the beautiful tea set from Germany! I was horrified! The conversation went something like this:

“We can’t use that!”

“Why not?”

“They’re children. What if it gets broken?”

“Oh, well.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

So he filled the rose and gold pot with iced tea, placed the cookies on the rose and gold tray, and set the rose and gold cups on the rose and gold saucers. He brought all that to me in the dining room, and I carefully arranged them under the table. Then the girls and I sat down cross-legged to a particularly grand tea party. I will remember it always. It was great fun. We ate the cookies, and drank tea with pinky fingers up, laughing. By the way, nothing got broken.

The Lesson

My husband taught me an important lesson that day, a practical application of the words of Jesus:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

It would have been so sad to miss that wonderful activity with two of my most favorite people in the world because I was afraid of breaking something. The tea set is a pretty possession, but those girls are my blessings, gifts from God. It’s my responsibility to demonstrate Christ-likeness to them. What lesson do I teach if I feel that an object is more valuable than their companionship?

It’s easy to let dollar signs push stuff out of its proper perspective. It’s better to view stuff through the eyes of a child. Remember, in heaven, you’ll be dancing with pure gold under your feet!

God bless you, and may your treasures bring you joy.

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