THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Tea Cup.
By Deborah Shaffer November 19th, 2025
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51–53
It’s about 4:20 a.m. I make it to the kitchen, open the cupboards, reach for my cup and prepare a hot cup of tea. Ahh… perfection. As I make it to my prayer room, I once again speak to God, thanking Him for another day.
As my heart and thoughts commune with God, my hands form around my favorite cup—my Snoopy 1979 Merry Christmas one. Thoughts of the past, a time when I was much younger, flood my mind.
I was working at a big-time insurance company and it was the Christmas gift that year from my employer. I had just graduated high school and only weeks earlier, had married my high school sweetheart. Oh what high expectations I had. In my young, foolish mind I just knew that my life was going to be perfect!
I gaze at the mug... it was once perfect. But now it’s worn. It’s chipped and scarred, but it’s special to me.
I hear God speaking to me. He knew my thoughts this morning as I caught a glimpse of myself from my reflection in the window. The thoughts of, Wow, Debbie, where has the time gone?
My body is aging. Time is passing. And, like my beloved cup, I have scars. I am worn. My colors aren’t as bright anymore—time tends to make them fade. To the world around me, I may just be another body—another middle-aged woman. But as I sit in my Father's arms with His hands cupped around me, I feel refreshed, loved, and perfect. He tells me He loves me. And even though my life hasn’t turned out as glorious as I’d envisioned and my outside is fading, He assures me that inside, I am a new creation, created in His image. I may be fading outwardly, but I still have a purpose to my Father. One day, I will exit this worn out, chipped, and scarred vessel. The butterfly-like beauty within will be set free.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16.
The Tea Cup.
By Deborah Shaffer November 19th, 2025
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51–53
It’s about 4:20 a.m. I make it to the kitchen, open the cupboards, reach for my cup and prepare a hot cup of tea. Ahh… perfection. As I make it to my prayer room, I once again speak to God, thanking Him for another day.
As my heart and thoughts commune with God, my hands form around my favorite cup—my Snoopy 1979 Merry Christmas one. Thoughts of the past, a time when I was much younger, flood my mind.
I was working at a big-time insurance company and it was the Christmas gift that year from my employer. I had just graduated high school and only weeks earlier, had married my high school sweetheart. Oh what high expectations I had. In my young, foolish mind I just knew that my life was going to be perfect!
I gaze at the mug... it was once perfect. But now it’s worn. It’s chipped and scarred, but it’s special to me.
I hear God speaking to me. He knew my thoughts this morning as I caught a glimpse of myself from my reflection in the window. The thoughts of, Wow, Debbie, where has the time gone?
My body is aging. Time is passing. And, like my beloved cup, I have scars. I am worn. My colors aren’t as bright anymore—time tends to make them fade. To the world around me, I may just be another body—another middle-aged woman. But as I sit in my Father's arms with His hands cupped around me, I feel refreshed, loved, and perfect. He tells me He loves me. And even though my life hasn’t turned out as glorious as I’d envisioned and my outside is fading, He assures me that inside, I am a new creation, created in His image. I may be fading outwardly, but I still have a purpose to my Father. One day, I will exit this worn out, chipped, and scarred vessel. The butterfly-like beauty within will be set free.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16.
THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Tea Cup.
By Deborah Shaffer November 19th, 2025
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51–53
It’s about 4:20 a.m. I make it to the kitchen, open the cupboards, reach for my cup and prepare a hot cup of tea. Ahh… perfection. As I make it to my prayer room, I once again speak to God, thanking Him for another day.
As my heart and thoughts commune with God, my hands form around my favorite cup—my Snoopy 1979 Merry Christmas one. Thoughts of the past, a time when I was much younger, flood my mind.
I was working at a big-time insurance company and it was the Christmas gift that year from my employer. I had just graduated high school and only weeks earlier, had married my high school sweetheart. Oh what high expectations I had. In my young, foolish mind I just knew that my life was going to be perfect!
I gaze at the mug... it was once perfect. But now it’s worn. It’s chipped and scarred, but it’s special to me.
I hear God speaking to me. He knew my thoughts this morning as I caught a glimpse of myself from my reflection in the window. The thoughts of, Wow, Debbie, where has the time gone?
My body is aging. Time is passing. And, like my beloved cup, I have scars. I am worn. My colors aren’t as bright anymore—time tends to make them fade. To the world around me, I may just be another body—another middle-aged woman. But as I sit in my Father's arms with His hands cupped around me, I feel refreshed, loved, and perfect. He tells me He loves me. And even though my life hasn’t turned out as glorious as I’d envisioned and my outside is fading, He assures me that inside, I am a new creation, created in His image. I may be fading outwardly, but I still have a purpose to my Father. One day, I will exit this worn out, chipped, and scarred vessel. The butterfly-like beauty within will be set free.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16.
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