by Vanessa Smith
“Do you realise that your face is covered in dirt?” my Mum asks me.
“I think it’s a little more than my face Mum” I answer… and then I pause.
“Do you realise that we are having tea under the tree?” I ask.
Mum gives me a look that seems to be questioning my sanity. ”What-ever do you mean?” she asks me.
Given that the only other subject to this story had no recollection of it – there is an almost 0% chance that any of you reading this would recall the content of a newsletter penned in July 2025.
In short – it was during the time that we were navigating renovations, downsizing and moving my Mum into the Granny flat – all of which felt a lot like a very long trip to the dentist – for all 3 generations participating in the escapade.
At the time the subject matter of my newsletter was about the importance of Prayer and of putting our trust in our rock – God – during these times of change. One of the verses I referenced was that of Isaiah 26:3-4 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because He trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock”.
Prayer led me to believing that this was the solution God sought of me – bring Mum home. I focused on God and imagined the end result – I looked at a garden in ruin from renovations and imagined that sometime in the future my Mum and I would be having “tea under that tree”- as I was called to trust in God’s word and believe it to be true.
At the time, I had just begun a season of change and rebuilding in my life – little did I know that this was going to be just one of the areas of testing.
On the day of the recent conversation – it had been particularly humid and unseasonably hot. I returned home and headed to fetch my washing. As I walked back with the basket, I noticed the weeds in the lawn and dumped the washing down to remove a few… fast-forward a few hours – a cushion had been fetched, now barefoot and covered in dirt I was almost halfway through filling a black refuse bag with weeds. Mum urged me to “step away” from the weeds and enjoy a cup of tea with her as the sunset was lovely. It was then that the thought took hold – God answers prayer – but seldom in the way I expect. Just when I believe it to be impossible – He delivers and He delivers a parcel that I did not expect.
The image in my head had been of tea in china cups with little shortbread biscuits – the reality was tea in a mug with half a rusk; perspiration mixed with soil all over my face and clothes. The feeling was far better than I had imagined. How often do we mourn the loss of the things that the world places value on, yet not value the very essence of being a child of God?
As Christians we are very often reminded of the reading from Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
How many of us subconsciously interpret the “prosper” part of this verse as being successful and financially comfortable – able to afford a nice house, good food, education and possibly even a holiday sometime? When this does not go to plan, it seems inevitable that we imagine that God has forgotten us or that we are clearly still in the “hope of a future” chapter of God’s work.
In that moment – finally sipping tea under the tree as I had written to you all in July 2025 – I realized that God had delivered FAR more than tea under the tree. During this chapter of change (more of this for another time) – whilst it could appear that I was far less prosperous than in previous chapters of my life – I had experienced the patience and love of friends; the generosity and love of family members that I thought had been lost; compromise on all fronts, reconnection with broader family overseas. The joy of sharing St John’s and my love for God with my Mum; seeing my Mum happier than she has been in a very long time. The impossible becoming possible – Mum declared that the pets would not be putting a foot in her living quarters – now they receive special daily treats from her…
It’s a list of the “little things”- but according to God’s value system – it is the things of value. The things that make you prosperous.
The context of the Jeremiah reading provides valuable insight. God said those words to the people of Israel WHILE they were in exile in Babylon. They had just lost everything (basically retrenched in today’s culture/words). God went on to instruct the Israelites to seek the peace of the city where He sent them – in other words – not to freeze, but to live life, even in the hard season. God promises to bring the Israelites back after 70 years – so the plan was not an instant fix either.
The world – and many of us – are experiencing a hard season right now. This does NOT mean that God has forgotten about us. This does not mean that He does not intend to fulfill his promises to us.
When life as we planned it, is gone or has changed dramatically – God has not gone silent. His plan often plays out on a different timeline than we imagine, and often it plays out in a very different way to what we had imagined.
Let us hold onto God’s promises as an anchor in the chaos. Weed the garden, serve the Lord and pray while you drink that cup of tea under a tree. God has not abandoned us.
Encourage one another as you go about your week.
Have a blessed week,
Vanessa.