My Cup of Tea

This has been a dreary week. The sky has been gray. It started out with snow on the ground, but then the rains came and now the ground is soggy. I haven't seen the sun in days. To cap it off, I haven't had a cup of REAL tea in 3 days!  Until this morning!


"Why?" you ask. Our church participates in a spiritual fast for several weeks in January. This is the first year I've tried it. Instead of doing it for the whole time, I settled on a 3-day fast. The kind of fast they do is called the Daniel Fast after the prophet Daniel. (The basis for it is told in Daniel 1) It is basically a strict vegan diet with some added restrictions, such as no processed foods, no sugar (honey is ok), no caffeine, herbal tea is ok. Except I really don't like herbal tea. I'm fine with de-caf tea, but I want my black, orange pekoe mix; the kind Tetley or Lipton specialize in. I'll have a couple of cups in the morning. And in the afternoon I treat myself to a good cup of Ty*phoo; a good British blend with all the caffeine I need for the day. When I'm on the road, there is always a large ice-tea in the cupholder.

I picked a really good time to deprive myself. Rain is such a mood killer and then add dietary restricions to it.... Well, it's not pretty! But the food wasn't the problem. There are plenty of good vegetarian recipes. What I really missed was my tea. As I write this I am sipping my first cup of the morning and its soo good.

I have never been one to fast. Let's put it this way. I have never been one to deprive myself of food. I'll control it, moderate it, but rarely forbid it. To do a real fast--the water-for-a-day type--is out of the question. In fact, when I read stories where people go for hours or days without food it really bothers me. The author might not mention food, but I'll be thinking about it! How did they cope?

Well, I didn't go without food. I was well nourished with healthy, good tasting food. But I did miss my tea. Right now, my kids are glad they weren't here to witness it. There are family stories about Mom without her tea. The 3 days are over. I'm going to go have my second cup. This afternoon I'll have my Ty*phoo. And I'm pretty sure I'll be swinging through McDonald's for a "large, unsweetened ice tea, please" when I run errands later today.

I did figure out one thing through this experience. I know one thing I won't be giving up for Lent! TEA!