The English Tea Set

One of the new genres I'm attempting to write now is the devotional. It's challenging for me because I'm used to using much more description. This is forcing me to focus on my message and keep my ideas concise (around 300 words). This story seemed to leap to the forefront of experiences I've had recently. The words were buzzing around my head til I finally wrote them out.

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"Talia with the tea set her Aunt Emily gave her for her birthday."

Devotional

“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I Samuel 3:10

My niece, Rachel, stopped by to visit with her two-year-old, Talia, in tow. Talia found something new - an ornate shelf, which held several teapots from around the world. She spied one just her size, a miniature tea set from England. She picked up a teacup and drank some tea.

“Hey, she’s never done that before!” I exclaimed. “When did she become interested in teapots?”

“Her aunt Emily gave her a play set for her birthday last week!” Rachel laughed. She tried to still Talia’s hands, “Maybe we shouldn’t play with this one.”

“Oh, it’s okay, she can’t hurt it.” I assured.

Talia poured some imaginary tea and filled it with cream. The tea set looked very beautiful with its tiny rosebud pattern and of course, was very fragile. “You can’t find this in America,” I said.

A moment later, Talia broke a handle on the delicate creamer. “I’m sorry, Aunt Amy,” Rachel said, “Her fingers are too clumsy to handle this stuff.”

“It can be fixed, don’t worry.” But Rachel pulled her over and whispered something in her ear. Soon, Talia was chasing after the dog and forgot all about the tea set.

I, too, was clumsy recently and broke a budding relationship. I thought I could easily fix it, just like the handle on the creamer. But I was wrong. God, that relationship was also beautiful. Please whisper something in my ear to draw my attention away from the breakage. Speak to me, and I will listen.

Application: When your mistakes overwhelm you, listen to God’s voice and let Him refocus your desires.