Thursday, yesterday, was my scheduled day of the week to look at the Ascetic Lives of Mothers book and think about my spirituality as a mother. I did this while my kids were playing happily outside, and the wind blew in my face, still a nice summery breeze (thankfully!)...
This passage really hit me as being brilliant, and I wanted to share it.
It first begins with a quote...
Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little and have a cup of tea. - Elder Sophrony of Essex
And then, my favorite passage....
"My mother reminds me often that tea has a way of keeping you in the moment. It's not like coffee, which, in our society, is meant to keep you always moving forward. Tea encourages the partaker to sit down and rest a moment. It is a sort of reset button for the weary. If we push ourselves beyond what we can bear for the sake of being strong, we will fall over, teacup and all, and find that staring up from the darkness of the abyss is far more terrifying than standing at the brink.
Let us step back and take tea together as mothers. Of course we may not be able to sit at each other's tables and sip a perfectly steeped pot together, but we can pray for one another and be an encouragement. We can make a pot of gratitude for all the Lord has blessed us with and sip it throughout the day through prayer and the reading of His Word. We can choose to face the difficulties, in the strength of Christ our Lord, and lay down the idea that we must somehow bear it all. How freeing is that though alone?"
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