Cups of Tea and Spaces of Sanctuary

A majestic view of mountains and the lake, tea served with a silver tea service, a rest stop off the road:
Ingredients that created a special moment of  sanctuary.  Sanctuary, with this view, was about being in a place that was sacred, where deep memories were held.

On a recent road trip through the Rocky Mountains we headed towards Lake Louise for a rest stop.  The true ‘stop’ came when we settled into lovely arm chairs in front of huge windows on the palatial main floor of Fairmont’s Chateau Lake Louise.   Only a few people wandered through the gorgeous wide halls of this stately hotel as it was a quiet time of year.  Summer was passed, autumn was about to move on and the winter ski season had not yet begun.  It was the perfect time for us as we made this a place to take a break on the long journey.   We ordered our respective types of tea and were so delighted when it arrived with such elegance.   Hot cups of tea served with a silver tea service, time to linger, and the added bonus of spectacular surroundings came together to give it a very romantic feeling.  In the off season with so few people around it felt even more like a wonderful sanctuary of quiet beauty and tranquility, and we had a little before continuing our journey.

Many years ago, when I lived close to the Rockies, this majestic lake was a place I would retreat to for restoration and refreshment for my soul.  It is one of the early places I began to understand the connections between solitude, solace and sanctuary, where creation offers  a place God gives us to experience Holy Presence, which takes us out of the ordinary and into places of deep rest and healing.  This location took on the quality of sanctuary in the sense that it was a sacred place that also held the sense of refuge and protection for my soul when my inner life felt out of balance.  A very simple cup of tea from my thermos, at the edge of the lake and the base of a mountain brought deep calm and release from inner chaos.  Good memories came flooding back as we walked into the hotel now.

A cup of tea, or any lovely warm beverage, invites you to stop and savour the flavour, the aroma, and to let your senses see what is around you.   I have found that these are some of the ingredients essential to experiencing sanctuary.   When I first started my solitary jaunts to Lake Louise all those years ago, there was always a cup of hot tea somewhere in the day. 

Letting myself sink into the comfortable seat, letting the stunning view soak in, we ordered our tea and when it arrived we waited as the tea leaves infused with the hot water to give us the perfect cuppa.  We poured our tea, that lovely aromatic blend of tea leaves through the silver strainer into our cups, lingering together at the window and just basking in the tranquility, the majesty, and the sanctuary of our own relationship together.   The silver tea service was rather regal and such fine quality - a bit of the extraordinary for a lowly cup of tea!   I could not help letting out a deep sigh of contentment.

Reminders of other cups of tea accompanied with sanctuary come to mind. Those times of deep pain when hands were wrapped tightly around a mug of tea, tears spilled down and splashed into the cup, and deep soul pain moved through my body.   Mornings where,  with a good friend, a pot of chai, and the need to share the hurdles this particular leg of life’s pilgrimage contained, we would laugh about it all.  Earlier this year, standing with my weary back against a friend’s kitchen counter, after our long flight home from the South Pacific, and sharing one of our many cups of tea through the years, we experienced a holy moment of sacredness as our friends shared their joyful news, that after many many years of waiting, they were expecting a baby!    Many cups of tea have been cradled in my hands as safe space has been entered where confidences were given, silence was held, and  others have waited in the spaces with huge unknowns.   Innumerable cups of tea have been slowly sipped in the presence of the Almighty - that place of solace, worship, and the deepest kind of comfort.

The box of Dilmah tea sits in the cupboard and I think there is invisible writing on the package that should you drink a cup of tea you may well be entering a little space of sanctuary along with this comforting cuppa!
And should that cuppa be brewing in a silver tea pot, that sits on the table by the gigantic picture window at Chateau Lake Louise, you will be guaranteed a special sacred moment of soul sanctuary should you be included to sit and let it enter your heart!  And I am deeply grateful for the many cups of tea I have shared with my beloved and the sanctuary our hearts have found in each other.