If you’re from the South, it’s “sweet” tea, right! Well, I’m from the midwest and this happened in Illinois – so for those of you wondering – Jud is not the victim. And well, we really don’t drink salt in our tea in Illinois either but when the air is muggy/heavy, and there’s a need to lighten things up, a bit of a harmless prank doesn’t hurt – does it? Yes, I enjoy a harmless prank every now and then.
There are times to be serious and times to have fun and there are times to be serious and have fun at the same time. This borders on the latter (be serious and have fun at the same time). Bruce is actually one of the greatest mentors I had in my early years of life as a new believer. Even in the event of me putting a ton of salt in his iced tea when he wasn’t looking, the joke was on me as he just kept drinking the tea as if nothing had changed. What’s with that – how does one drink salted tea? Was he trying to teach me something in this as well – perhaps preservation during times of trial. Who knows – but this is what I learned.
“No matter what happens to you, KEEP YOUR SPIRIT SWEET.” These are words that came directly from Bruce to me. His timely, wise words have come to mind and guided me several times during difficult struggles in ministry relationships. Through his words, I am reminded of two things:
1. “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.” Matthew 3:16 (New Living Translation). We know this to be the presence of the Holy Spirit and how He can impact our lives to be different even in the tough times as followers of Christ.
2. The words of an old hymn “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.”
Doris Akers, the writer of this hymn, in an interview with Lindsay Terry said this: “She related to me that one Sunday morning in 1962, while directing the Sky Pilot Choir, she said to her singers, “You are not ready to go in.” She didn’t believe they had prayed enough! They were accustomed to spending time with her in prayer before the service, asking God to bless their songs. She said, “I feel that prayer is more important than great voices.” They had already prayed, but this particular morning she asked them to pray again, and they did so with renewed fervor.
As they prayed, Doris began to wonder how she could stop this wonderful prayer meeting. She said, “I sent word to the pastor letting him know what was happening. He was waiting in the auditorium, wanting to start the service. Finally, I was compelled to say to the choir, ‘We have to go. I hate to leave this room and I know you hate to leave, but you know we do have to go to the service. But there is such a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place.’”
Knowing that the Holy Spirit is present within us in our meetings and relationships with others can bring on a sweetness that breaks through in such a powerful way that everyone involved is aware something special is happening – a moment in time is preserved for the glory of God . . . and we don’t want to leave this place. It can happen in a Small Group, and it can even happen when a pastor drinks salted tea.
Bruce continues to mentor me from a distance – and yes, we laugh about that experience every now and then together. I think he wants me to feel guilty. I don’t.
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU! So tell me, how do you like your tea?