MY DEFINING "TEAPOT MOMENT"
~ Dedicated to Maribeth Leineke ~
We've all experienced those divine interventions, often referred to as God winks, Jesus AHA! moments, or coincidences. While I realize the glory goes to Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, I often refer to these signs and wonders as Teapot Moments.
Jesus never fails to amaze me with his subtle ways of expressing His love for us. In the blink of an eye, we can miss an opportunity to witness Jesus at work in our lives. We must keep our eyes on Him, seeking out his presence. The Holy Spirit will speak revelation to us if we stop long enough to pay attention to see and hear what He is up to.
One morning a friend was in her kitchen, when she was overcome with the thought of giving me a teapot, which sat in the corner of her counter. The Holy Spirit put this on her heart rather unexpectedly. She said, "Jesus, the teapot? I don't even know if she likes teapots!" I imagine my friend sort of shrugging her shoulders and giggling at God's sense of humor as she wrapped up the teapot, tucking a note inside, signed, "Love, J.C."
We both were serving together in our church office. I happened to show up on a morning I was not scheduled, so my friend was quite surprised to see me there on this particular day. The Lord orchestrated this day, as she also had this gift she had to bring in, in spite of expecting me to not be there. As she handed me the rather heavy gift bag, she said, "You're gonna think I'm nuts, but Jesus told me to give you this teapot. I don't know what it means, or if you are even supposed to keep it. It may be meant for you to give to someone else. All I know is I'm supposed to give you this teapot!"
Just hearing there was a teapot in the gift bag sent chills through my body. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The teapot was short and stout, made out of cast iron. Doing everything I could do to hold back my tears, I told my dear friend how teapots are actually very significant to me. "You are not going to believe this, but my mother collects teapots. It was her birthday two days ago, and I could not afford to buy a gift for her. I felt so bad because I always try to make my mother's birthday very special. You see, my sister, Jami, died a few days after our mother's birthday, fifteen years ago. As a matter of fact, the anniversary of Jami's homegoing is in a couple days. Mom began collecting teapots when Jami died. They are symbolic of when Jami used to sing "I'm a little teapot, short and stout...", as a little girl.
The teapot came at just the perfect time, and was the perfect Christmas gift for Mom. As God would have it, many months later my mother ended up giving it back to me. She felt strongly that Jesus wanted ME to have it all along. The Holy Spirit does work out the will of God in the most subtle of ways, even with little notes, signed J.C.
We've all experienced those divine interventions, often referred to as God winks, Jesus AHA! moments, or coincidences. While I realize the glory goes to Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, I often refer to these signs and wonders as Teapot Moments.
Jesus never fails to amaze me with his subtle ways of expressing His love for us. In the blink of an eye, we can miss an opportunity to witness Jesus at work in our lives. We must keep our eyes on Him, seeking out his presence. The Holy Spirit will speak revelation to us if we stop long enough to pay attention to see and hear what He is up to.
One morning a friend was in her kitchen, when she was overcome with the thought of giving me a teapot, which sat in the corner of her counter. The Holy Spirit put this on her heart rather unexpectedly. She said, "Jesus, the teapot? I don't even know if she likes teapots!" I imagine my friend sort of shrugging her shoulders and giggling at God's sense of humor as she wrapped up the teapot, tucking a note inside, signed, "Love, J.C."
We both were serving together in our church office. I happened to show up on a morning I was not scheduled, so my friend was quite surprised to see me there on this particular day. The Lord orchestrated this day, as she also had this gift she had to bring in, in spite of expecting me to not be there. As she handed me the rather heavy gift bag, she said, "You're gonna think I'm nuts, but Jesus told me to give you this teapot. I don't know what it means, or if you are even supposed to keep it. It may be meant for you to give to someone else. All I know is I'm supposed to give you this teapot!"
Just hearing there was a teapot in the gift bag sent chills through my body. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The teapot was short and stout, made out of cast iron. Doing everything I could do to hold back my tears, I told my dear friend how teapots are actually very significant to me. "You are not going to believe this, but my mother collects teapots. It was her birthday two days ago, and I could not afford to buy a gift for her. I felt so bad because I always try to make my mother's birthday very special. You see, my sister, Jami, died a few days after our mother's birthday, fifteen years ago. As a matter of fact, the anniversary of Jami's homegoing is in a couple days. Mom began collecting teapots when Jami died. They are symbolic of when Jami used to sing "I'm a little teapot, short and stout...", as a little girl.
The teapot came at just the perfect time, and was the perfect Christmas gift for Mom. As God would have it, many months later my mother ended up giving it back to me. She felt strongly that Jesus wanted ME to have it all along. The Holy Spirit does work out the will of God in the most subtle of ways, even with little notes, signed J.C.
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