I have been a coffee drinker since I was 13 years old. I love the way it tastes with some cream and sugar, maybe a little vanilla or coconut flavor in it. I love the way caffeine gets me going in the morning or keeps me going into the late hours of the night while I cram for finals. I love collecting coffee mugs. I love doing my morning devotionals with a hot cup of coffee in my hands. In fact, I am pretty convinced God made coffee for the very reason of early morning Bible + Jesus time, they just pair so perfectly!
But there is something about coffee I love most, and it has nothing to do with the way it tastes, looks in my favorite mug, or makes me feel…
A few years ago my roommate Aspyn and I were “church shopping” in our new town where we were going to college. Aspyn and I grew up together and I transferred to Colorado Mesa University after my freshman year, knowing Aspyn and I would make great roommates. Grand Junction has a surprising number of churches but we had a hard time finding a church with a younger crowd. She had some family friends suggest Victory Life Church and we decided to go check it out one frigid winter Sunday. We got up extra early to grab our Starbucks before heading to church. We show up to this massive building with a parking lot the size of our entire high school building and people are marching into the doors, single file, just like ants. We walk in to see the largest Christmas tree we have ever seen and lots of smiling people handing out the bulletins, directing us to the auditorium. Everyone was wearing the same blue shirt, Aspyn and I obviously did not get the memo… strike 1. We make our way to our seats, the most cushiony seats I have ever seen in a church and we notice that the majority of people are in fact older… strike 2. Worship begins and I feel the Lord ask me to give this church a chance, to be open to hearing the message today and I agree, after all it’s not like we can get up and leave in the middle, we are stuck here until the service is over. The pastor gets on stage and tells the crowd that they are “going to do something a little different this week” and Aspyn and I turn to each other and roll our eyes. He brings this couple on stage, introduces them, hands them a mic and walks off stage. What happened next honestly changed my life…
The couple looked like they were in their mid-late 60’s and, if I remember right, the husband was a dean at a small Christian university somewhere that sounded very cold, maybe Minnesota. They talked about planting churches, getting married, having kids, and then being called to take the job at the college in Minnesota. They tell us that just as they had moved and started unpacking they received a call from a hospital near their son’s college town, explaining that the previous night their son, Bryan, had lost control of his car and wrapped it around a tree. The doctors and nurses were doing everything they could to save him but his parents needed to get there as soon as possible, as the doctors were not sure if he would make it through the night. Panicked, they jump on a plane and show up to the hospital a few hours later to see Bryan in the ICU. He is so beat up he is barely recognizable, nearly every bone in the lower half of his body is broken and he had some serious brain trauma. The doctors begin to explain that he may not wake up and if he does, it would take a serious miracle for him to recover fully. As most believers would do, they hit their knees and begged God to heal their son… 24 hours later the swelling on Bryan’s brain had decreases significantly and the outlook was surprisingly good! 72 hours later and Bryan was awake! Slowly but surely Bryan began to recover; he was speaking and moving his arms but his legs were very damaged and the doctors predicted he would never walk properly or without assistance. His parents faithfully prayed every day for Bryan’s recovery. 6 months down the line Bryan was mostly healed; his brain was healthy, no noticeable deficits, but his legs did not work the same as before and he was bound to a wheel chair as he was released from the hospital.
As they got in the car Bryan’s dad asked him if there was anything he wanted to do before going home and Bryan exclaimed “we have to go to the nearest Starbucks!” While his parents thought it odd that the first thing he wanted to do was go to Starbucks, they happily obliged, seeing him excited had their hearts smiling. They get to Starbucks and his dad pulls around to the drive through, frustrated Bryan says, “no we have to go inside and get a table.” Again, his parents were surprised and knew how painful it was for Bryan to get in and out of the car asking him, “are you sure? The line for the drive through is not too long.” Bryan insisted on going inside. As they get Bryan and his wheel chair out of the car and walk in, his dad gets in line to order the coffee and his mom gets them situated at a small table, locks in Bryan’s chair and sits down. Dad brings over the coffee and sits with them, anticipating Bryan’s explanation as to why Starbucks and why they had to come into the cafe. Surprisingly, Bryan does not say a word and about 30 minutes later his dad begins to get very impatient noticing that in 30min Bryan had barely had any of his coffee while his parents were on their third cup. Angry, his dad says “Bryan, you wanted to come here to get coffee but you have barely touched your cup and we have been here 30 min! It is time to go.” Bryan looks at his dad, smiles, and says “Dad, we are not here to drink coffee. We are here to do coffee!” Confused, yet again, his dad asks him to explain…
And Bryan says, “Dad, have you noticed that little girl in the corner with her parents? She has not touched her hot cocoa but she is having the time of her life! Have you noticed the young man with headphones reading his bible? Did you see the little old man with his little old wife holding hands? I have been confined to a bed in a hospital for 6 months, dreaming of the day I get to do coffee. The day I get to sit here and enjoy the little moments with my favorite people. I get to listen to little kids laugh, I get to see young men dive into the Word of God, I get to see an old man show off his wife. I get to see these people doing life and I get to silently celebrate with them! I think that if Jesus were alive on Earth today we would find him in a coffee shop, silently celebrating life with a cup of coffee in his hand.”
*they ended the story, telling us that 3 years after the accident, Bryan was fully recovered and walking normally without assistance!
Aspyn and I drove home silent, trying to remember every word of that story. I found myself asking so many questions: How often are we the people that grab our coffee to go, run out the door, and never think about the people we encounter along the way? All too often I find that I am the impatient parent, ready to get moving and I forget to celebrate the little victories. I forget to notice all the opportunities God gives me to experience Him on a daily basis. I neglect to notice the ways I can be kind and generous to the people around me, the ways I can be the hands and feet of Jesus- even when I am at my favorite coffee shop!
So here is a proposal: let’s be the kind of people that do coffee, not just drink coffee. Let’s be the people that take a moment to see the people around us.
