Decaffeinated...sorta

I've been asked by a reader, let's call him "Jared", to share more about my experiences here. From what I gather he is asking me for a little more depth in my entries. Well, there are 3 parts to my life here: 1) school, 2) cultural experiences & travel, and 3) my inner life. I have shared about the first two. Here's a story from the 3rd.

The other day the French press broke. I had finished making a pot of coffee, poured a cup in my cutesie mug (see photo left), and set the press back down. Two seconds later two pieces of glass came shooting through the air.

One is supposed to heat the container with warm water before pouring the boiling water in, but I didn’t do it that day. I haven’t done it a few times, and nothing has happened. It was odd, though, it burst about 5 minutes after I poured the water in and even after I poured a cup of coffee.

As I stood there at the kitchen counter in shock, I remembered that Lent has begun. I wondered about the Lord…coffee is in my top three worldly obsessions (following closely after boys and clothes). I was praying prior to lent about what the Lord wanted me to sacrifice this year. Coffee has been the thing that I've been convicted to give up the last two years, but I have never done it fully.

I never considered giving up anything for lent until I moved to Oregon. I had always viewed it as a Catholic ritual, one that I rarely saw come from the heart. I recall friends giving up chocolate or pop and not even knowing why they were doing it, or worse yet, as a 40-day diet plan sponsored and monitored by the church.

In Oregon I was surrounded by Christians who were sacrificing for Lent for the right reasons, and the idea began to make sense for me. I was convicted to give up coffee the first year, but I fought it. I shrugged off the conviction for the comfort of a morning ritual. Pretty sad, actually, that I wouldn't sacrifice that little thing for the Lord.

So with a burst of the French Press, this Lenten season has begun. I'm not claiming that God broke my coffee maker as a reminder. But I did ask Him what to give up and then forgotten to note the beginning of Lent. So I decided resolutely to give it up this year.

I suppose I'll wait until after Easter to buy another French Press. For now I'm on Earl Grey. There's beauty in the sacrifice, a direct correlation with the Sacrifice of Jesus, that's a reminder for me every morning as I pour a cup of tea instead of coffee.