Tea

This morning no alarm went off at 5:30 to get me going for the day. I woke up all by myself at 6am. All by myself, at 6am. Not sure how many more ways I could write it as I'm still trying to comprehend it. Its a little scary that I may be becoming a morning person. For three weeks now, I've been working as an agency nurse at a hospital in Grand Prairie. Some days I have to be there as early as 5:30- I did not know that time existed until now. I am thankful for the job, but even more thankful for a day off today. I needed it after the emotional ups and downs of life as discontentment had set in this week. So today I planned on catching up on my sleep because still being a night-owl at 11pm does not gel with the alarm going off at zero dark thirty. Nonetheless, my body alarm woke me up. I laid in my bed (thank you Jeff & Kara for my new bed) hoping to fall back asleep, but not much slumber came. I moseyed out to the kitchen and was getting ready to turn on the coffee pot, when I realized I didn't need the caffeine fix or have to rush to work this morning. I could enjoy a cup of tea instead. I dusted off my beloved cobalt blue teapot remembering how much my grandmother loved it. That was one of the many things I inherited when she passed away so I packed it with care five years ago before I left for Africa. So as I took the lid off to fill with water, I noticed two pieces of paper crumpled up in it. Setting them aside, I filled the pot and placed it on the stovetop. As I waited for the steam to produce the whistle I read the pieces of paper:

"I am strong for all things in the One who constantly infuses strength in me." 
Philippians 4:13, translation by Kenneth Wuest, Greek Scholar. 

"At all times, in all circumstances, Christ is able and willing to provide strength we need to be content. Contentment occurs when Christ's strength is infused into my weak body, soul, and spirit. To infuse means to pour, fill, soak, extract. Every morning when I dip my herbal tea bag into boiling water, I witness infusion. How does God enable us us to be content? He infuses contentment into us through His Word. As it seeps into our minds, it transforms us. Just as a cup of tea gets stronger when we give it time to steep, so we become more content when we spend time in God's Word and allow it to seep into our lives transforming us to be like Him" - Calm My Anxious Heart, Linda Dillow

These were excerpts out of one of my favorite books, Calm My Anxious Heart. I have lost track of how many times I have flipped through the pages of this book when my heart was searching for contentment. Whether it was when I was transferring colleges, dealing with relationships, or waiting to be done with work so I could travel to Africa- it brought me back to where I needed to be- in God's Word. I had shared this devotion with a friend of mine last week, but I think God wanted me to meditate on it some more. Five years ago, I placed it in the teapot (although I don't remember) predicting the need for the encouragement as I start a new life stateside. So instead of sleeping in this morning, I drank my tea and allowed God's Word to infuse strength in me for the days ahead as I find contentment in this life.