Comfort

I asked someone what to blog about and they told me to blog about tea.  I then decided to research the history of tea, as I felt that it would probably be an interesting topic.

I found that we really don't know how tea was invented, but one of the common legends is that some herbs or leaves blew into a pot of water accidentally.  Honestly, I did not think that the origins of tea were the most interesting part.  The development of brewing tea as a ritual was fascinating.  You see, tea drinking became a similar to religious ceremonies.  When someone drank tea it was to be a quiet and peaceful drink.  It was a drink to have when you wanted to be in a meditative sort of mood.  There was a specific way to brew tea and a specific place where you were to drink the tea.

This concept is quite fascinating for me.  I love a good cup of hot tea when I am up late studying.  Holding a mug of tea can warm your hands.  It's also a nice drink to curl up with when you want to spend a cold day reading.  But while I was reading about the history of tea, I began to think about what people use to calm them down in modern society.  Some of us go to food to handle stress.  This is why we have the term "comfort food."  Some of us go to friends.  It's nice to have an ear to listen and a mouth to tell you that it isn't your fault.  Some of us go shopping.  Some of us choose to drink alcohol, consume tobacco, or use drugs.  Some of us exercise.  Some of us go to social media or the internet in general.  Still others go to self-help books, in the hope that we can somehow "fix" ourselves, and so won't become stressed.  These things are not necessarily bad, but it is important to be aware of what we go to first when we need help.  When we go to other things for help instead of going to God, we have made them into our idols.

There are obviously a multitude of ways to handle stress.   There are many things that we can use to comfort ourselves, including tea.  I enjoy a lot of things that I just listed in the above paragraph.  The thing is, that is not what God has asked me to do when I'm afraid and "stressed out."  He asks me to go to Him.  He tells me that I can find comfort in Him.  His Word reminds me that God's comfort is the only comfort that is everlasting and never-changing.  Tea can be taxed, overeating can cause obesity, and internet connection can be lost, but God's loving protection is a priceless gift in which we should abide.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3