A tea bag gone wild

I love tea. I have boxes and boxes of it—mostly herbal—in such delightful flavors as apricot honey bush and vanilla chamomile. There is something about it that simply soothes the soul (and provides a bit of warmth on chilly Colorado days).

So I when I stepped out of the cold into the church where I'm attending a Bible study, I immediately sought out tea. I was talking to a friend I am getting to know better lately, and fiddling with the tag that is attached to the string that is attached to the bag. While to most these mechanics are obvious, they weren't to me. Suddenly, the tea bag leapt out of the cup and splashed onto the table. Fortunately, the damage seemed to be limited to a small pool on the table and a now-wet handout. I smiled nervously at the fifty-ish women sitting across from me. Yikes.

That was muddy, yes, but it did reveal a beautiful ray of sunshine. My friend (who is very pregnant) immediately saw that I was in the middle of a humiliating situation and walked over to the snack counter to get me several napkins. While I was sitting there looking lost with a soggy napkin and a dripping handout, she came back, swept the wet papers out of my hand and replaced them with dry alternatives. When she returned a second time, she brought me a fresh handout. I think it helps that she has a two-year-old and knows how to deal with silliness like this, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with how kind she was to help minimize the awkwardness of a not-so-happy situation.

So, although I decided that friendship is no longer my primary motivation for attending the Bible study, I am filled with the kind of joy that comes from getting to know a new friend—one who will like you, tea-bag toppling and all.