Three For Tea

A weekly tea party with Daddy turns interesting when Jesus shows up.

"Daddy, who is Jesus?” Cindy asked as she prepared their weekly tea party.

Sunday was Cindy’s favorite day. She got to have her Daddy all to herself for the afternoon. Her Daddy was her favorite person in the whole wide world. He knew just about everything. She loved her time with him.

Cindy’s friend from school told her there was a good man named Jesus who is with us all the time. She wanted to know more about Him.

While she waited for her Daddy to answer, Cindy added another chair to the tiny table.

“Who is the other chair for, Cindy?” her Daddy asked.

“It’s for Jesus. Jessica says he’s with us all the time. It would be rude to leave Him out.”

She put three plates and three cups around the table. She waited for him to answer before she served the pretend tea and cookies.

He didn’t answer her right away, though. His eyes got wet, and he looked toward the door.

“You’re not leaving, are you, Daddy? Are you having tea with me and Jesus?” Cindy started to worry.

Her Daddy ran his hand through his hair.

“You are five years old...”

“I know, Dad, I’m a big girl now.”

“Yes, you are. But still, this is a hard thing to talk about. Honey, I am a scientist. People in my work believe differently about how we are made.”

“You mean Jessica is saying Jesus made us? Did she tell me a whopper, Dad?”

“Well, some people believe that Jesus’ Father made us, yes. Others, like me, believe we came from apes. It’s called the Theory of Evolution.”

“Daddy!” Cindy said, laughing. “Don’t be silly! Apes are animals at the zoo. We don’t look that scary!” She giggled at the thought of it. She shook her head as she poured three cups of pretend tea.

“Would you like a cookie, Daddy?”

His face softened, and he said, “Why yes, Ms. Cindy, I certainly would.”

Cindy placed a pretend cookie on his tiny plastic plate. She looked at the other chair and asked Jesus if he would care for a cookie.

Her Father quietly watched. She took her time and carefully put two cookies on Jesus’ plate. When she looked back at her Daddy, she saw tears falling out of his eyes.

“Do you want two cookies, Daddy? Don’t be sad. You can have another one.”

“I would love another of your delicious cookies,” he said, and smiled through his tears.

When it was time for their tea party to end, her Daddy pulled Cindy into his lap.

He said, “Cindy, I think it’s important to let people choose on their own what they believe. Starting next Sunday, I will take you to a place where you can learn all about Jesus.”

“On Sunday? No way, Daddy. That’s tea party day.”

“You can go in the morning, and we can still have our tea party after lunch.”

“What is the place called?” she asked, curious.

“It’s called church. You can meet new friends your age and talk about Jesus. You can even talk to Jesus. Would you like that?”

“I’d like that a bunch, Daddy!” she said and hugged him really tight.