I love coffee. Coffee is the promise of energy, alertness, and a new day. Every morning, before I walk with my dog, I grind fresh coffee beans, and start the coffee pot. When I return, the smell of coffee fills my tiny apartment with notes of chocolate and earth. As I pour the first cup of coffee and doctor it with cream, I delight in this simple and comfortable routine. The art of puttering around my kitchen to create this caffeinated beverage delivers security into a world full of insecurity and unexpected tragedies.
Often, my first thought as I sit down to catch up on the news via Facebook, The Today Show, and The City, with my cup of coffee in hand and my dog Greta squeezed beside me in my comfy chair is, “Thank YOU for this.” My next thought is usually somewhere along the lines of, “So many people don’t have this right now.” The news is filled with people running for President, people running from their war-torn countries, and people running the world. Coffee interrupted.
Soon, I’m out the door again running my usual 5k. Running for my mental health. Running for my physical health to prevent inherited diabetes, poor circulation, and heart disease. Running for my spiritual health as I pray for the people I love, the people I want to love, and the people I need to love. Always running.
Jonah was a runner. He ran from obedience. He ran from mission. He ran from the Lord. I imagine he missed his daily routine when the Lord interrupted his life. He was swallowed by a fish. Peter was a fisherman. He learned that “catch and release” would no longer be his way of life. He denied Jesus and ran from his calling. Jesus did not release his heart and Peter learned a new skill…shepherding. Saul ran his own race on his own terms, and he was blinded by the Lord in order to see the Way, and then as a transformed man with a new name, Paul, he taught others to run the race with the Lord.
Our world is in need of peaceful moments with coffee and tea. Moments that defy the rat race. Moments that allow us to be reflective and calm. Moments given by God to show us how to run the race like Jonah, Peter, and Paul. May you be enraged by injustice, embraced by God’s shepherding way, and brought to your knees by the blinding light of God’s grace and compassion for humankind. May your coffee be interrupted.
