God's Green Tea

The other day I attended a gathering with my fiance's family. He has an aunt who is, in my opinion, more concerned with the superficialities of life ... the status house, the fancy car, the proper pets, the my child is attending a better college than yours, keeping up with current trends, etc.

She explained how she read that drinking green tea is supposed to be healthy for you. So, she said she went out and bought some green tea to drink. But she didn't like it, so she threw it all away. She asked, how are you supposed to drink healthy green tea if it's gross?

I wanted to tell her that there's more than one type of green tea. That if you buy the stuff in the regular grocery store, chances are, it tastes like musty dust. If you go to an authentic Asian grocery store, their green tea is much, much better. But I didn't tell her that. Because I could tell she was already closed to the subject. She had no interest in exploring it further. She wasn't really serious about drinking it for health, she was drinking it because it was the "in" thing to do. She wanted others to validate her for having tried it.

I felt really bothered by it, for some reason. I mean, it was such a silly thing. What do I care if she hates green tea? Then, I realized, it was because she had written off something that I love and enjoy as part of my every day morning ritual. I love green tea.

I wonder how many of us go to church because it's the "in" thing to do. It's something that we're told to do in the Bible, but if we go to one church and it feels kind of dusty or musty to us, we just quit and say, "well, I didn't like it." In all honesty, I'm kind of in an "in between" stage with my church. I really like the pastor at the church that I call "my church", the church that I tithe at. But I don't feel connected with the members of the church, in fact, I feel annoyed and irritated by them. I just want to escape after the service before they latch on to me.

This topic has been on my prayer list since I left singing on "my church's" worship team last November. I feel drawn to attend at Saddleback. But they're so huge already, do they really need me? Do I need them? Where do I belong? Am I ready to belong?

I've turned off commenting on this post. I am only sharing where I'm at, not seeking feedback. Please don't be offended.