Our waitress had just served our tea at Inspirations Tea Room in Edmond, Ok, where Lori and I had taken her mother for a special outing. The table setting, complete with scones, finger sandwiches, fruit, and various delectable delights, reminded me of our afternoon tea in London several months ago
“Look,” Lori smiled, “they included a Bible verse.” She had found it on the side of her plate. Lori’s Mom—Ruth Ann (“Roo”)—joined her, “I have one, too. Oh my goodness, how sweet.” The Bible verses were on tiny slips of paper.
Lori, then Roo, read their verses aloud like it was part of an afternoon “tea liturgy.”
“What’s yours say, David?” Lori asked.
I looked at my plate. Nothing.
Then I lifted the plate. No verse. I raised all my utensils. Still, I found no Scripture.
“Maybe they figured I didn’t need one since I’m a preacher,” I teased.
But I did. And Lori knew it.
“He didn’t get a Scripture,” Lori informed our server, pointing to me. “Would you mind getting one for him?”
And of course, our waitress was more than willing to include me in the Scripture distribution.
“You pick out one you think I need,” I chuckled as she walked back to the kitchen.
As I was sipping my second cup of Earl Grey, she delivered my Scripture.
What’s it say?” Lori wanted to know.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10.
I smiled, satisfied with how appropriate it was for me.
Bible verses are not like fortune cookie messages. I think of the story about the guy who was struggling, and so, closing his eyes, he opened his Bible randomly, thinking he would find God’s will for his life. He placed his finger on the page, then opened his eyes. His finger landed on Matthew 27:5, “Then Judas hanged himself.” The man thought, “That’s not right; let me try again,” and repeated his process. This time his finger was on Luke 10:37: “Jesus told him ‘go and do likewise.'” Again the man thought it wasn’t right, so he did it one last time and landed on John 13:37: “Whatever you are about to do, do it quickly.”
The Bible can be applied with disastrous results when taken out of context.
But was my verse random, or was God gently reminding me of something? I had anxiously searched for “my verse” on my plate when I knew enough verses by heart to guide me moment by moment. Maybe the waitress was spiritually keen and observed that I needed to rest content in what I knew of God’s Word. And so, the Bible verse was a beautiful reminder for me. “Be still, know God, relish each moment God gives me.”
I observed Lori and Roo smiling, mother and her daughter together. And then I looked down at the table setting, laden with tasty treats and lovely teas. Outside, I could see the sun shining. Next to us, people were chattering, their utensils clinking. The sounds of life were all around me.
Breathing it all in, I felt at peace, at ease in the presence of God, enveloped by his love, at that moment, there in our corner of the tea room.
I thought of a line from one of Emily Dickinson’s poems: “Forever – is composed of Nows—” she wrote.
Thanking the waitress as we left, I moved my plate aside, and voila, there it was: the Scripture I thought was missing. I had to laugh at myself.
But this too had a purpose in God’s timing, for the Scripture was from Psalm 33:20: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”
The two verses complimented each other. As I was about to leave the tea room oasis, I could remain in God’s presence, confident that he was my hope and shield for whatever awaited me.
No, I won’t open my Bible and randomly point to a Scripture, hoping for a revelation of God’s will.
But I will keep the two Scriptures from the tea room as a reminder of that day and always believe someone chose them just for me.