When our daughters turned five, we took them shopping for their own tea cup and saucer. Our oldest daughter, being a lover of purple, chose a tea cup with beautiful purple flowers. Our youngest daughter, smitten with roses, chose Prince Albert Old Country Roses. Those tea cups enjoyed several gallons of tea over the years!
I have to admit, teatime was my favorite subject in homeschooling. For record keeping purposes, we called it “Bible.” I would meet with our girls individually and read Scripture, pray, and read through an inspirational book. We were mentored by Edith Schaeffer, Emilie Barnes, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jerry Bridges, Karen Mains, and many other dear saints. We even did some “official” Bible studies that had blanks to fill in.
During this time, we shared our hearts with each other. This was one-on-one time with Mama and any topic was fair game. It was our time to talk about dreams and plans. We talked about character qualities Daddy had that they wanted in their husbands. We talked about what struggles they were experiencing and how the Lord could help them through it or find the way of escape from it.
Teatime does not have to be a big production or complicated, nor does it have to take an entire afternoon. Our typical teatime was around thirty minutes. A teapot, two tea cups (and saucers!), and a plate of something yummy, like little cookies or a brownie, were the “ingredients” for our teatimes. We would light a candle and put on some gentle music to create a calming atmosphere. In our hurried day and age, time to intentionally slow down and enjoy one another is soothing to one’s soul.
Both of our daughters enjoyed teatime. Our youngest daughter is an extrovert, and teatime gave her the opportunity to have my undivided attention. Extroverts like to talk and know you are really listening! Our oldest daughter is an introvert with quality time as her highest love language. Introverts need a few deep friendships, and this time allowed us to build one. Now she is married and lives a few hours away. When we are going to get together, I will ask what she wants to do and she always says, “Have tea!” And when we are not together, SkypeTea works well, too! So, take a break from your busy lives to schedule in some teatime and you’ll find strong relationships built cup by cup.
Glen and Jerrine Hicks have been married 31 years and live near Sedalia, CO. They have two adult daughters and one son-in-love. Jerrine’s idea of a perfect day would include a pot of PG Tips tea, some dark chocolate, a Jane Austen movie, and time reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jerry Bridges, Emilie Barnes or L.M. Montgomery. She loves couchtime with her Glen. She is an introvert. 😉 The Hickses have been involved with Growing Families since 1996.
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