Proverbs 3:6
“In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
Pivotal moments come when we least expect them and sometimes we don’t recognize them until we have a “rear view” perspective. As we get older and look back on events in our lives, often our vision is clearer, and when one reaches the age I have there’s a lot more to ponder! This last pivotal moment—although I trust it won’t be the final one in my life—was prompted by the passing comment of a friend.
Mentoring younger women has been a joy for me over the years and it began when I started offering cooking classes in our home to teen girls, young single women, and young married women. One day my friend, Julie, who was assisting me with the youth girls from our church said, “Marsha, I think you could do the same thing with tea.” A “boing” went off in my head and heart and I knew she was on to something. After much prayer and clear direction from the Lord, “The Pleasures of Tea” workshops were developed and offered in our home, beginning in 1997, and continued each Fall season for the six years that followed. Over 300 women of all ages came through our doors to learn the basics of tea: how to select and brew tea, how to prepare baked goods, and how to use visual examples of thirteen different tea-themed ideas to create their own tea rituals. The mission was to equip women to use what they had learned to reach out to their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family with the love of Christ. In other words, using tea as a “tool” for outreach.
As loose-leaf tea was offered to the workshop attendees, the question often asked was whether I would ever consider offering tea for sale. What followed was an explosion of business opportunities: retail and wholesale sales of loose-leaf tea and creative custom blends; sales of accessories and vintage items, three websites, numerous Facebook pages, a self-published cookbook, and speaking engagements. Twenty-three years after that pivotal moment, the torch was passed to our daughter, Jen, who now owns and operates TeaForAllReasons.com. One never knows where a passing comment can lead, how a simple prayer can be answered, how a dream can be realized, even to the next generation.
The Lord establishes our steps and directs our path as we align ourselves with His will. Very often, God’s will is a mystery, which may leave us frustrated if we have periods where we are left wondering which way to go. Here are key principles for us to remember when seeking God’s will in making decisions:
• Cultivate your relationship with God by being in His Word.
• Surrender your will to His.
• Discover how He has “wired” and gifted you.
• Look at your circumstances and how the decision will impact your life, your time, and how it will affect others in your family.
• Seek the godly counsel of another.
• Pray daily being attentive to His still small voice through the Holy Spirit.
He may take us by a route we have never been before but that is where we must lean on faith the most—“walking by faith and not by sight.” Most importantly, keep looking to Him to light your path!
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You that You are sovereign, and we can trust You with our prayers, our burdens, hopes, and dreams. In all our ways may we acknowledge that You are in control. Please show us Your will and direct our path through Your Word, Your Holy Spirit, and through the encouragement of others. If we are on the wrong path, O God, direct us back. We also acknowledge that we trust in Your power, wisdom, faithfulness, and goodness in our home life, work, and recreation and that apart from You we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Thank you, Lord, and we pray in Jesus name. Amen.
