“Oh my God, who have I offended? What have I done to deserve this treatment?” Sitting on the staircase, the child cried. At age 5, what exactly did this young lady know about being deserving?
Her routine was set: Wake up, get dressed for school, have morning devotion and then have some breakfast. Tea was what they called it at home. It didn’t matter what the actual content was. Whether it was Ovaltine, Bournvita, Milo or the likes. It was tea.
Breakfast for this young lady wasn’t about the bread that came with it or the pancakes. It wasn’t about the cereal or the fruits. It was the “tea”. And so this Monday morning when she woke up and had gone through her routine, it was rather strange that there was no tea. How can? Her world was crumbling. Why would her parents think that it was okay to skip what she knew? How was her day supposed to be complete without what usually completes it?
A whole 20 minutes went by and after every drop of tears that had drenched her cute, freshly ironed uniform, she mustered the strength to eat whatever it was that they had served then went to school. The next day, of course, tea was on the menu but it was never really the same again. She knew that it was possible that some mornings wouldn’t always go the same or perhaps the way she wanted. She would grow to see the beauty in these things.
I often wonder though if that day was planned by my parents or maybe God wanted to teach me something. In my later years, when I’m asked the popular question “Tea or coffee?” it not only reminds me of my 20 minutes of panic years ago, it reminds me that life is full of choices. It reminds me that there might not always be tea but it’s okay because there will be the option of coffee, It reminds me that I don’t need to always take one path to get to a destination. It reminds me that life is so full, so big and so long that I don’t always have to be and do things the same way and it’s totally fine if I don’t.
I still like tea and even more so coffee. But I don’t know that I’d spend so much time fixated on its absence. Today, I misplaced my earphones and I cried. Strange but true. I did have this mini meltdown. And as I sat there in the kitchen begging God that it was not lost, I remembered my tea incident and it made me smile. It’ll probably be really bad if I can’t find them but it sure won’t be the end of the world.
So, tea or coffee? Right now, a cold glass of juice will do just fine.
– Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.
Keri Russell
