Sunday Afternoon Tea - The things in our control

Most of the people I admire and hope to learn from are people who walk with Jesus.  I truly believe that is where wisdom is to be found.  However, there are those that do not walk with Him that I have learned much from due to their particular skills.  Some are chefs like Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.   

Other people have character traits I admire that I take wisdom from, even if they are not people of faith.  One of those unique characters is Tasha Tudor.  Tasha's spiritual leanings are rather bizarre if one takes what she says seriously.  For instance, she believes she is reincarnated from an earlier time in history.  

But I don't admire her for her unique and odd spiritual leanings, I can receive good Bible teaching from those people I trust in books, video, and television.  I admire Tasha Tudor because she decided to live life on her terms and didn't worry about what other people thought of her.  Truth be told, she made a career of that stand against society as we know it.

While most of us know about Tasha from her beautiful book illustrations; many of us also enjoy the books, articles, and videos about her home and her way of life.  Tasha longed for the old ways of living and she surrounded herself in that lifestyle.  Some could pull such a lifestyle off for a short time if it were only to further their career.  For Tasha, she embraced this life for many decades.

The world changed in ways she could never have predicted from the time of her birth to her death at the age of 92.  Instead of complaining about the changes outside of her control, she kept the world that was in her control the way she longed to live with the way she dressed, raising her own food, and even her home was decorated in a way that spoke of a previous century.

Would I want to live as Tasha did?  Not exactly that way.  I understand that the reason she could live in her own little world was because of her talent as an illustrator.  She could work from home and her talent brought her not only fame but a good source of income.

I will soon watch the beautiful video of Tasha Tudor's surroundings at Christmas time again as I do each year.  I have some of her books and I have two or three issues of "vintage" Victoria magazine that featured Tasha in articles.  As with all such articles and film, I look for those things I can use in my own home to make our surroundings more beautiful.

What made me think of Tasha recently were a couple of things.  Of course, the results of the election were a disappointment but not really a surprise.  America is a divided country and once again, the election was just about fifty-fifty and those who were happy with what the current administration was doing were able to bring in voters more than those who were not.

However, a political commentator I think has a lot of common sense said this election disturbed him more than any other he has been through.  Because he was certain people would react against the inflation, shortages, increase in crime, etc. to vote in change.  Instead, enough people voted to keep the status quo that he wondered if we could ever go back to a Constitutional Republic.  I admit, it is disturbing.

On the other hand, recently I was watching one of the videos of The Elliott Homestead.  She been sharing from their trip to Sicily this Summer and one of the interviews kept coming back to my mind.  It was her time spent with a Sicilian vineyard owner and farmer.  

As he showed his guests around the vineyard and talked about the generations that came before him, he said it was in caring for this place that kept him happy (my interpretation since he spoke in broken English).  He said they learned that they could not control what was going on in the world outside of those walls so they concentrated on what was going on inside their walls.

I found that especially amazing when one thinks of the various wars that have happened on European soil since his great, great, etc., grandfather settled that land.  Think of the financial crisis that have hit Italy, the political uncertainty, the pandemic, and everything else they have been through.

He had learned the secret of being content where he was.  Now, I don't know if he was a man of faith or not for the interview was about growing vegetables and a vineyard.  However, that answer he gave struck me as having a great deal of Biblical wisdom.  Because his family had taken care of those things that were in their dominion to do something about.

That is what made me think of Tasha Tudor after pondering his interview.  Tasha didn't care for the 20th Century and everything that was happening outside of her four walls.  So, what did she do?  She did her best to create a world that she did love within her domain to do something about.

It was a reminder to me that sometimes we can learn a great deal of wisdom from the most unlikely sources.  I thought of that after the election.  I have no control over what is happening in this country and the world except my vote and a great deal of prayer.

I still plan on praying, I won't give up on that for we may never know what good our prayers have done this side of Eternity. I will vote in elections.  But I have been thinking more about what I can do within these four walls to provide peace, joy, faith, and serenity.  I believe we have reached the time when we need to be able to feel the serenity of the Lord even when the outside world is very dark.

My peace, my joy, my serenity cannot depend on what the world says or what it portrays as good.  My emotions have to be grounded in what the Bible says about these days, especially in Romans 6 and Matthew 24.  If I truly believe we are in the time of the birth pains, then I should not be surprised by what the world around me looks like.

We had our first light snowfall yesterday and I was reminded that we are entering the season when nature rests.  I will be making those foods such as soup, bread, and hearty casseroles that we hunger for in cold weather.  I will make coffee each morning as usual but now that it is colder, we will enjoy tea in the afternoon and other hot beverages to keep warm.

I can control what media I watch and what I listen to each day, even if I cannot control anything about what is going on in Washington outside of prayer (which is very important).  I have made certain there are plenty of throws around the house and I washed the extra blanket we put on our bed when it starts to feel like winter.

There is actually much that I do have control over within these four walls and surrounding property.  Well, except for the two cats.  Florentine still howls for food at 3:00 in the morning and Mouse hops up on the ledge outside of the kitchen window when she wants a Hobbit breakfast.  I live to serve it seems.

They do provide plenty of laughter so I will put up with having no control over felines but everything else within my little realm... if it does not spark joy or faith... I will not worry about it. (With apologies to Marie Kondo.)

A reminder, I wrote yesterday that I will be taking a blog break until Sunday, November 27th.  We will be having company coming and going during that time and I have two dental appointments scheduled in that same period of time.  Not to mention Thanksgiving and my son's birthday.  There will be little time to ponder.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my friends.  In spite of what the world looks like, we have much to be thankful for and not the least of which is salvation in Christ.  All that and Heaven, too.

Mentioned in this Blog Post

The Elliott Homestead on YouTube... here.  I have watched many of Shaye's videos.  I can't relate to homesteading and gardening at this time of life but everything else is very enjoyable.

Take Peace: A Corgi Cottage Christmas on Amazon Prime Video... here.  I think this is still available on Amazon Prime as is Take Joy: The Magical World of Tasha Tudor... here.  

I'm not absolutely certain since I own both of these and it doesn't show if they are still available for purchase.  I especially enjoy the Christmas video this time of year.

Disclaimer:  Most links to Amazon.com are Associate links.