How many varieties of iced tea can we make? In this early morning heat – and it is warm, really warm – lots. It’s possible to buy all kinds of so-called ice tea in bottles, but real iced tea is the kind you make from scratch. Hot water and tea bags, letting the tea steep so it has a full flavor, a real tea flavor unlike what comes in bottles.
What’s really nice with real tea is a fresh lemon or other fruit slice. Apricots, peaches, and even limes are nice. Then pouring the slightly cooled tea over ice. There’s no need for sweeteners then. On a hot summer day, refreshing.
What’s really amazing, of course, is how something so simple can help us get past the discomfort of summer heat. The opening song of Leonard Bernstein’s piece Mass, has the words, “Sing God a simple song; God loves all simple things, for God is the simplest of all.” And refreshing, like iced tea.
Prayer for the Day
Release us, O Lord, from our frantic pursuits of the extraneous,
And touch us with the calm beauty of simple things;
Free us, O God, from our anxious drive for material goods,
For they will only rust and disintegrate with time.
Enlarge our vision to take joy in the world around us,
And to love the earth you have given us.
In the name of the One who walked among the lilies,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It’s strange how the simple things in life go on while we become more difficult.
Richard Brautigan, American novelist and poet (1935-1984)
Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
Shaker folk sing
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, God saved me.
Return, my being, to your calm, for the Lord has requited you.
Psalm 116: 5-6