More Than Just Tea

We are constantly rewarded but rarely challenged by the devoted volunteers who frequent The House.  There is a steady stream of experts and experienced friends, of many trades, who come for lunch and connect pieces of the very challenging one-thousand-piece puzzle of loving neighbors as we love ourselves.

Recently, a favorite friend came for lunch. She visits with enthusiasm rarely experienced within our walls. I have worried more than once that she might not read the room well or perceive the vibe when she arrives.  One day recently, unencumbered and armor-clad, she deftly and ingeniously opened King David’s Psalm 100 while we continued eating. Patiently, she waited until the paper plates were cleared and in Mary Poppins fashion, handed out worksheets and pencils to all.  My expectations for the rest of the hour collapsed while hers prevailed.

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,” the psalm begins, and she continued, ignoring the fatigued body language of a few.  She diagramed the salient points of the psalm and made it clear that she would fill the remaining hour.  The energy began to change.

 Our friends in Orange Mound have rarely, if ever, been in a setting such as the one unfolding in our lunchroom.  We obediently filled in the answers on the atypical worksheets she provided. Everyone participated. A seasoned teacher with a positive grasp of the possibilities of her class summons latent skills and sharpens them. No one in the room balked.

 My skepticism shamed me, and my doubts drained away as the hour filled with uncommon hope. Despite that, I countered with certainty, that she was past naïve when she required homework to be completed in two weeks. 

     “Write a psalm and complete it in the tone of King David’s manner.” She continued ignoring the gasps. “Begin with praise, address God personally, extol God’s attributes, thank Him in specific ways for several things, and end again with praise.” She nodded with a smile, “Are there any questions? I’ll be back in two weeks, and we will share each of your original psalms.”  The only thing lacking was two clicks of her heels as she left.

                It’s clunky to dwell on socio-cultural differences. However, the myriad of different life circumstances and varied resources are palpable at 3028 Carnes.  Homework heretofore, though hardly ever suggested, has been lost, stolen, forgotten or eaten by the dog.

This week, she returned as promised. My heart melted with surprise to see that every lady but one had her homework finished and ready.

I have copies of all the psalms that were proudly shared in the room.  The spectrum of their experiences is not my own. I am daily fumbling as I navigate our different social and cultural norms. Though the mosaic of backgrounds and perspectives prevails, we have the same Father. 

Now, it is evident that they have turned their frequently shared sadness of the absence of their earthly fathers into a deeper and abiding trust in our Heavenly One.

One wrote:

“When I think about You, God, all I can say is I am not worthy.”

Another:

“Thank you, Lord, for waking me up, protecting my family while I was away, and answering my prayers for getting me out of that jail cell.” (She was in jail for twenty months at 201 Poplar.)

Still another wrote:

“Thank you, God, for my kids, my job, my mind, my health, my things; but most of all, thank you for being my dad.”

One who has come to us after years on the streets: “Thank you for giving me peace, sobriety from my addiction, and providing me the return to my family.”

There were many more, but one is so well said, and I end with her love of God’s attributes:

“How blessed I am that Your name resides in my mouth. Father, I don’t wish to wonder where I would be without You. Father, You redeemed me from my poor decisions and ungodly choices. I thank you for rescuing me when I was below bottom. You forgave my sins and forgot them as well. Gracious, God, keep me in Your will.”

May that sink in to us all as our cup overflows, we spill the tea, and spread the news of what He is doing at My Cup of Tea in Orange Mound.

Each of our Orange Mound ladies carries a profound story marked by trauma and abuse. These remarkable women have endured unimaginable hardships—too many, they would whisper, to fully remember or desire to articulate.

For them, the act of forgiving is not just a choice; it is an urgent necessity. A Black single mother navigating the harsh realities of poverty must summon extraordinary strength to move forward and reclaim her life. In a world where her voice often goes unheard and her struggles remain unacknowledged, we strive to be advocates, determined to lift them up, validate their experience, and offer resources. Together, we link arms to pursue their redemption and recovery. We have discovered that resilience is remarkably acquired by a wise woman when she is faced with a multitude of injustices.

One of our most resilient employees continues to rise above her past, holding onto her faith that the future will be brighter. At just 12 years old, she was raped by her uncle, and instead of finding support, her mother blamed her, scorned her, and even tried to force a miscarriage.

My friend was assigned all of the cooking and cleaning chores and the daily care of her siblings, yet she maintained her education.  She discovered a talent but was never encouraged to develop a trade. She married, suffered abuse, was abandoned, and divorced. She suffered physically and psychologically, without medical guidance, and bore the scars and wounds of a battered woman. She prevailed.

To borrow the words from a song that is on repeat in my mind: “No matter the wounds, no matter the bruises, no matter the scars, no matter the causes, let me introduce you to amazing grace, for the Cross has made, yes, the Cross has made her flawless."  She refuses to succumb. She rises, resets, and resumes the course.

Her narrative of valor has continued for decades. She honors, nurses, and weeps for her mother, who has dementia. She has nursed, served, prayed with, and buried two brothers without help from any of her other siblings. She starves her own need to complain about her family and fills her afternoons feeding the needy and strangers she passes on her way home.            

 Whenever I am mistakenly lauded for my efforts over the past 14 years to love and encourage the more than 100 women who have worked at My Cup of Tea, I feel not humbled, but embarrassed. These women have shown me the qualities essential for a life filled with faith and peace.  They embody courage, resilience, and a deep capacity for forgiveness towards those who have let them down.  I am the one who has learned the invaluable life skill of unconditional love from them, not the reverse. 

On the heels of the pandemic, we were searching for a way to be more involved with the Orange Mound neighborhood, and at the same time, attract more people to our work and products. The idea that bloomed was to feature the art of a professional Black artist on the front of a limited-edition tea box.

The project would allow us to collaborate with a neighborhood organization, the Orange Mound Arts Council (OMAC). If successful, we would draw attention not only to the chosen artist, but also to the rich cultural history of Orange Mound. And, we would raise the public profile of My Cup of Tea and our products, which allow us to employ women from the community.

Five years later, the “art box,” as we like to call it, is one of our most popular items, an anticipated holiday gift, and a positive source of media coverage for the artist and us. As we prepare to unveil this year’s art, we are reminded that the gift of art, the stimulation of our senses, and the way it makes us feel come from a creative and compassionate God.

In fact, in the very first verse of the Bible, we are told, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) One only needs to look to the clear sky in the dark of night or across the horizon at a Memphis sunset to stand in awe of the beauty.

Then, in Exodus 35, we learn of the “craftsmanship” and “artistic designs” to be used with gold, silver, bronze, stone cutting, and wood carving for the tabernacle.

And in I Kings and II Chronicles, we read the accounts of the building of Solomon’s palace and the Temple. We find Solomon requisitioning cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers to be carved of olive wood and overlaid with gold. Inside the temple, there are the sea, lattices, pomegranates, wreaths, oxen, and more cast in bronze.

Not only is God the giver of the tangible art – what we can see, hear, and touch – He is also the one who gives the gift of creativity and artistry.

Also in Exodus 35, we learn that before constructing the tabernacle, God chose and equipped the people who would fashion it.

“…and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.”

And James I:17 tells us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Of course, we know that when it comes to artistic ability, some of us are more gifted than others. We have been blessed over the past four years with the innate and inspiring abilities of Andre Miller, Danny Broadway, Darlene Newman, and Mosal Morszart who envisioned the story of Memphis, Orange Mound, and My Cup of Tea in their own unique ways and transferred them to our tiny tea box canvas. This year, we will experience the giftedness of artist Cheryiah Sunshine.

Cheryiah is the second woman to be chosen for the art box, and she is the youngest artist at only 25 years old. Cheryiah was selected from among the largest number of submissions in the five years of the contest. Unlike the previous winners who work with similar materials, Cheryiah creates with materials as diverse as acrylic paints, block printing ink, mixed media paper, duct tape, Washi tape, and even coffee. We are elated to share her work with you and feature it on our art box.

Finally, this 5^th year of the art box includes our first sponsor, Regions Bank. The generous donation covers the cost of the contest, the artist award, the limited-edition tea, and the printing of the box. In other words, one hundred percent of every box sold will go to the wages of the My Cup of Tea ladies. We are so thankful for their support.

If you can, please join us for the unveiling on Wednesday, October 22, at 10 am at My Cup of Tea. If you cannot attend, please consider purchasing this box of tea with Cheryiah’s art. It will be on sale at the unveiling and online later that day.