The Best Cup of Chai You Ever Had

Put yourself on a mountain top. A literal peak. You have reached this vantage point by walking along a ridge with a cliff edge on one side and a steep, treeless, grassy slope sliding down the other side. Up ahead, Sambar Deer dart for cover at your arrival. Climb onto a boulder, survey the valleys and peaks in front of you, the lush green at the fore fades to hazy blue in the distance. Take a deep breath of the clear, pure mountain air. All you hear is the wind. South Indian Mountains. Beautiful. Peaceful, right?

Unfortunately, the reality of my third journey up this same mountain was not so idyllic. For starters, my buddies and I had spent the previous night in a tent, hiked for the last eight hours or so and were carrying 30-40lb backpacks on our shoulders. I wouldn’t say any of us were enthusiastic about what was happening, but by this point our team had split into two groups; the complainers and the determined. The complainers had taken up the rear, and their complaining had begun even before the rain. At this point, we had just passed through the bright green, box-shaped tea bushes of the Glen Morgan Estate’s tea plantation. We were now climbing a barren hillside in the rain whilst being buffeted by bouts of wind. Due to our heavy bags, the steep slope and precarious footing, each gust knocked us off balance unless we leaned into it as it struck us. We slogged our way to the crest of the aforementioned ridge. The trees we found at the top were dead, leafless and shelterless from the wet onslaught of the wind.

It was getting dark, so as a team (complainers included) we decided to descend the other side of the ridge into the valley in hopes of finding shelter from the wind and a sufficient campsite. We had no intention of finding the valley floor because the distance was greater than our patience and our endurance. Instead, we found a group of short trees by a stream on a level part of the hillside a little more out of the wind. We sloshed around setting up camp as fast as we could. Most of our group went straight to bed in their damp sleeping bags, but a few of us braved the wind and rain under the trees just a little longer to cook some rice. Never have I enjoyed half cooked rice and salsa so much in my life. But it was piping hot and my shivering body soaked it up.

That night each of the members of my tent took turns “sleeping” wrapped around the tent pole to keep the tent standing as it whipped around in the midnight wind. None of us really slept, but when we first saw daylight we swam out of our puddle of a tent that was now torn by the wind. We blearily, but quickly, packed up our campsite. No breakfast. We wanted off this sleepless mountain. I honestly don’t remember the hike down.

But I do remember, and will always remember, the best cup of chai I ever had.

We trudged onto the tea estate grounds towards the owners’ house to give our thanks for allowing us to camp up behind their property. We would then head for the bus to take us back to our boarding school campus. It turned out a group of younger students from our school had just arrived by bus and were preparing for a day of hiking to the top of the mountain. Those poor innocent children had no idea what the mountain had just done to us, but fortunately for them it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Members of their group cheerfully directed us to where we could find some chai and Marie biscuits (a cheap, semi-sweet Indian cookie often eaten with tea). Objectively, I don’t think that batch of chai was even that great. But to me it was heaven. Warm. Rejuvenating. Nectar of the gods. I wonder if the tea was from the plantation we had just walked through? Regardless, I have enjoyed many cups of chai in many a circumstance, but that cup out-shown them all.

Most of the best things we experience in life come after difficulty. Persevering through those challenges make the joys all the sweeter. You have to work before a paycheck right? Or ask my wife about childbirth! The paradox of interwoven pain and joy. Does the trophy on your shelf mean more to you because someone thought you liked its style or because you worked hard and earned it? People do not have a victory parade to celebrate peace until after a war has been won. Now, my paper cup of chai does not compare to those things of course but it just points to a generalized principle in a lot of life.

There is however one thing I certainly did not earn that I daily rejoice in and is of great value. It was hard earned indeed, but just not by me. My Lord and Savior Jesus walks with me day by day, through every mountain and valley of my life. My salvation was a free gift of love and I gratefully cling to it. Jesus bought it for me at the cosmic cost of His life and gently offered it to me many years ago. He gently offers it to you too, and I pray that you will take it. The Apostle Paul says “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Please, let’s walk with Him together through this life. And in the next, I’m certain we will have the chance to truly taste the best cup of chai we ever had.

Peace. And until next time, happy travels!

Seth

P.S. If you appreciate or enjoy the work I am doing at Marvelous India, feel free to say thank you by buying me a cup of chai!

Buy me a cup of chai