Love

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Love’ as in… Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you. How about a cup of tea?

If you’re a Ted Lasso fan, you’re probably aware of the Latin phrase, Gradarius Firmus Victoria. It means “Slow and steady wins the race.” The first time Ted was offered tea, Rebecca asked, “How do you take your tea?” Ted responded, “Well, normally right back to the counter because there’s been a terrible mistake.” That’s some dope writing right there.

I’m guessing that the Latin for “Slow and steady wins the race” is far better than whatever the Latin is for “Remember the Turtle and Hare!”

“Slow and steady,” it turns out, is ancient wisdom for everything, including brewing tea, engaging in meaningful conversation, and nurturing relationships. In ancient cultures, tea was made simply by pouring hot water over loose tea leaves in a cup. It didn’t take long for the full flavor to emerge from the fresh tea leaves. Today, if you’re chatting with a friend while waiting for the tea to steep, you won’t get very far into the conversation before that first cup of tea becomes history. It’s entirely possible for people to drink tea together but remain strangers.

The second cup of tea requires a longer time for the leaves to steep and the flavors to emerge. As a result, there is more time to engage in conversation. It’s during the second cup of tea that friendships are made.

The third cup of tea is where love grows into healthy, thriving relationships. The third cup of tea provides enough time to finally arrive at a place in the conversation measured by active listening, genuine empathy, deeper understanding, and growing love. The third cup of tea creates the space to become thoroughly steeped in each other’s hopes and dreams.

Valentine’s Day offers us opportunities to share cups of tea with people we love and care about, to ask thoughtful questions, to enjoy more time to listen. Slow and steady, my friends. One more way, and a few more moments to look someone in the eyes and say, I love you.

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each week. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog, Thriving Rhythms.