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Steep
Time Defined
by Captain Ruth
Gillingham
I returned home from vacation to find a wrapped box on my bed.
I love presents!
Upon opening it I discovered one of my favorite things - Chai.
Now this wasn’t just your ordinary box of Chai. It’s the
“Oprah Chai Tea” from Starbucks (Please take note that the
current city we reside in does NOT have a Starbucks.) As I
examined the box I discovered a very engaging invitation
written:
“Teavana and Oprah invite you to take a few moments to pause
and reflect each day. Your own personal “steep time”.
(PAUSE)
Take a moment to read the invitation once again and really
drink it in.
This is the invitation of God to us on a daily basis. He just
happened to communicate it on Starbucks packaging. The Lord
invites us to take moments to pause - Selah - and experience
His rich aroma - just like the scent of chai - different
nuances of spices infiltrate and stimulate the senses.
The warmth of the drink is comforting, relaxing, refreshing,
renewing.
I love “steep time”. It’s actually my favorite time of the
day. “Steep time” for me starts off every morning with a cup
of hot Chai, my Bible, a journal, my favorite chair,
stillness. And as I sit in the quietness, along comes a wind
that stirs up the spices of the Lord. His wisdom, love,
nurture, guidance, sustenance, vision, healing, presence...
He meets me daily in the “steep time” and I enjoy His
fragrance.
What I’m about to share come from my “steep time” mixed with
my daily sojourning and encountering the fragrance of the Lord
permeating my walk.
It all started with Ellen - “Be Kind to one another.” Pierced
at the end of a random TV talk show by a quick benediction.
Those words inspired, challenged, niggled away at, invaded,
planted and echoed in me - “Be Kind”. The journey into
kindness begins.
“Steep Time” - Early morning reading Ruth
Not many days later I began reading the book of Ruth and
encountered the fragrance of the Lord as I read, “May the LORD
deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead
and me.” (1:8) It’s the first of 12 blessings recorded.
The word “kindly” jumps off the page and assaults me. I go to
studylight.org
to find out the Hebrew root. Chesed (accents not included).
It’s the kindness, compassion, goodness of YHWH. I’m routed
back to Exodus 34:6 where Moses is beseeching the Lord to show
Himself. And what does the Lord reveal? His
goodness/kindness - CHESED. Be Holy as I am Holy - Be Kind as
I am Kind.
Then I notice the catch in Naomi’s blessings. May He be kind
as you have been kind. Sowing and Reaping play into this.
May I experience the Lord’s kindness as I have been kind.
Have I been kind? Where do I lack kindness? Why does this
kindness thing keep echoing in me? He’s speaking.
Kindness in my words. Kindness in my silence. Kindness in my
thoughts. Kindness in my actions. Kindness in my absence of
action. Oh Lord, help me to be kind like You.
So the examination and self-reflection begins. The examination
reveals some areas of
disease that require treatment. I’ve become unkind in certain
relationships. Allowing familiarity, business,
rationalization, hardness of heart to become normalized.
I’m in the midst of a long term treatment program and being
healed of my disease. I am growing in the fruit of the Spirit
- kindness.
In this journey of healing - growing into kindness - the Lord
showed up again to stress the centrality of kindness - chesed.
I was in Chapters with a couple of friends one day - obviously
I was not in Yellowknife. Randomly a friend picks up a book
and passes it to me. “Have you heard about this?” I take the
book and read the cover, “The Love Dare.” My immediate
thought is “Stupid”. But practicing kindness I respond, “No”.
My friend goes on to tell how it was a movie about a man
whose marriage is falling apart and he sets off on a journey
to bring healing to his marriage through unconditional love.
(Note: I may have this totally wrong and this brings into
question my attentive listening skills.) What gets me is as I
am feigning interest and dismissing the whole thing in my
thoughts I crack open the book and this is what it says, “Day
2 - Love is kind”. Stink!!! It’s Him. I buy the book. It’s
interactive and has you engaged in acts of kindness towards
your spouse. I can’t even get past chapter 2. I really have
a lot of work to do in the area of kindness!!!
Often when I’ve read “love is kind”, the fruit of the Spirit
is “kindness”, I tend to gloss over it and believe that “I’ve
got that one.” In theory it’s all good. In practice -
practicing righteousness - I have a ways to go.
My Steep Time is really steep. It takes me deeper, challenges
me to be stronger. Live a more spicy life. Kindness is not
vanilla. It requires attentiveness, honesty with ourselves,
humility - cause we don’t get it right all the time. It
engages in a battle front of dying to self and preferring
others. I find it hard in practice - easy in theory. But I
long for the maturity of that fruit - Kindness. The journey
continues. Thank God we are being transformed from glory to
glory as we behold Him. Steep time affords me/us the time for
beholding so that we will actually be transformed.
So here’s His invitation:
“YHWH invites you to take a few moments to pause and reflect
each day. Your own personal “steep time”.
“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along...” Come
“steep” with Him and you will never be the same.
Be Kind to One Another.
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