Friday, February 10, 2012

At the bottom of the coffee cup.


I started drinking coffee in college. Mostly because I've never been the girl to swim against the current. Mostly because everyone else was doing it. And because I'm a sucker, who's easily peer pressured I drank it in. Cup by cup.

Over the years I've realized certain things happen when I'm drinking coffee.
My heart, no matter how cold- is generally warmed. My thoughts, no matter how chaotic- are generally slowed. My emotions, no matter how erratic- are generally calmed.


Let's be honest, it's not really the coffee that does all of this. It's more the habit. The habit of sitting quietly with little more than a warm cup in my hands and a few minutes to rest. It's in these moments of rest that I pray. It's in these moments that I'm challenged. It's in these moments I'm made ready.

But.

What happens when you sip that last sip? What happens when you've drank the last drop? What happens when you reach the bottom of the coffee cup?

During those moments of rest... During those moments of aloneness with my coffee I usually dream... set mental goals... work up motivation.

The sad part is that often when I get to the bottom of my coffee cup it all ends there. I'm jolted back to the dozen of e-mails in my inbox, the zillions of items on my to do list, the general insanity that is, well... Life.



The other night I went to hear a man speak about about his faith. I heard him talk about the God he served and the Bible he believed in. He asked the question- What if we weren't just readers of the Word of God, but doers of it?

And immediately, I was brought back to the bottom of my coffee cup. What happens after I've brewed my morning cup and stirred in my hopes, dreams and goals. What happens when I reach the bottom of the cup? What do I do then? Do I go back and pour another cup just to sit and dream a bit more?

Or-

Do I take my last gulp and stand up and move? Move on to what I've been "called" to do. What I was made for. What if I reached the bottom of the cup and actually did something?

It's a challenging thought. One I hope doesn't stop there.

And after the other night, hearing that man talk about it all...
Well, I am commited anew to take steps to start doing rather than keep sipping.

So, raise your mugs sweet friends... Let's sip and dream. Sip and hope. Sip and plan. Sip and pray. Pray hard. And then, stand up and move. It might just be the best cup of coffee we've ever had.

Hans

**To hear/watch "the guy" I was talking about drop in HERE (ps. there are a few speakers listed, coffee-cup-inspiration guy is Francis Chan under the 2/8 7:15pm session.**

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hannah, thank you for your thoughts today! I am inspired and I hope others are too! ~Britt

ilene @ muchloveilly said...

love this - thanks for sharing! and even before i got to the bottom of this post, i knew you were talking about Francis Chan. even though i'm not there, i totally stalked FW on youtube. ;)

Elizabeth said...

Love this post, Han! Well done you.

Julia Kime said...

Inspiring!!!

Amber said...

Beautiful post! Great thought to carry through the day - and put into action. Thank you!

Amanda said...

Beautifully put! Thank you for sharing your faith :)