April showers were held in custody by the prayers of the faithful. In the fading light of day’s end a mother sits with her child who turned 14 yesterday, laughing and talking to, I think, hide their tears.

“It’s time for tea,” a volunteer encourages, but the child is shy, shivering. Is it because it’s chilly?

“Time to plant those tears,” the mother suggests as she hands her daughter one of the many beautiful teacups provided and fills it with potting soil. “Go ahead. Pick your own small garden from the flowers pictured on these packets of seeds.”

You were with us yesterday at the Isaiah House Garden Party represented by the teacups you provided from your own cupboards – so you know the mother and child’s sorrow that was transmitted by the Holy Spirit from the common human experiences of sadness, joy, and embarrassment that are shared equally by those with homes and those without one.

We all know the sorrow that we cover in laughter and jokes and can recall how the threat of rain can make us feel more lonely and broken-hearted. In contrast to a child’s new birthday, we try to reconcile with our own fading light that is not only linear but also circular, spinning like the seasons of the years. We are all more similar than we are different.

“It is time for tea” is between any generation, regardless of where we live, not only our departure point, but the destination of our daily lives with all their ups and downs.

It is time to plant our own tears of uncertainty with seeds of hope that flourish like a flower bed, which is, of course, the future of others, revealing that it is time, regardless of the season, to enjoy the experience of human life – for both the child and her mother – for both you and me, whether we are at home or out on the street. This is because the conflicts we face are an inevitable part of life and are designed to serve as a catalyst connecting us all. Instead of avoiding conflict or making laughter and jokes about it, it is time we recognize that conflict is the one element we are not facing in our Christian life – a voice of reconciliation, showing Christians, un-churched, and seekers that conflict is also an opportunity to learn and grow, and often to grow closer.

It is time for tea. It is time to plant our tears in the teacups from generations past. It is time to select our own small garden from the seeds of new life displayed on the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Marti’s reflections on last night’s Isaiah House Garden Party]