I am a coffee lover.
I started drinking coffee as a child, when my mother would put coffee in
my milk to entice me to drink the milk. As
I got older, the less milk was in my coffee.
Long ago, I weened myself from any additives that would take away from
the rich flavor of the coffee. No sugar, no creamer, no froth, nothing. Just pure, rich, dark coffee. The older I got and my tastes matured, the
darker the coffee roast I preferred. As
soon as I awake in the morning, I make my way in the dark through the house to
the kitchen where, without turning on a light, I reach into the cabinet for my
cup and the rack where we keep the K-Cups holding my preferred blend. I lift the arm of the machine, insert the
cup, lower it and select the largest brew size possible. Making sure my cup is placed on the drip tray
in just the right spot, I wait the minute for my fresh steaming cup of coffee. I then will make my way to the chair I sit in
to have my morning time of prayer, email, journaling, and meditation (not
always in any particular order). I sit
the cup on the coaster on the table beside my chair, sit down and situate
myself, and then pick up my cup, holding it close just smelling the wonderful
aroma and watching the steam rise. Then…I
take my first sip of the day. It is the
best thing ever. The rest of the cup is
wonderful as well, but it isn’t nearly as celebrated as that first sip. Then I continue with my day.
This morning as I was performing this ritual, and as I was
meditating on blessings and things I am thankful for, and people to whom I am
grateful, I thought, “hey, the Holy Spirit is like coffee!” Let me explain.
I love God. I love
all the natures of God, and the Holy Spirit, in my thinking, is the most
important nature of God. The Holy Spirit
represents that presence of God with us, not just in the cosmos. We are all unique and important to God, and
God is the God of all nature. Not
either/or, but both/and. This is all a
part of our understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The divine presence of God is made possible in the Spirit of God. The guidance, comfort, wisdom, and
inspiration from God comes from the Holy Spirit at work in our lives and in our
world.
Long ago, I was introduced to the knowledge of the Holy Spirit
in diluted ways. Stories in Sunday
school and VBS, snippets of sermons a few times a year, other little ways the
Holy Spirit was referenced. I was not
brought up in a Pentecostal or charismatic church so the Holy Spirit was
referenced in less imminent ways. Gifts
of the Spirit, baptism of the Spirit, all of these doctrines were foreign to
me. As I got older, I began to develop
my own understanding, my own experience of and with the Holy Spirit. The less diluted my experience, the more
significance I found in the working of the Holy Spirit in all our lives.
Now, as I have matured in faith, I feel that the Spirit of
God is with me and that I can find my way through the dark of the world to
where I can sit and experience the presence of Spirit that is always present. The more I removed anything that would dilute
my experience of the presence of the Spirit, the richer my experience
became. I savor the presence of the
Spirit in my life, and every morning, that first “good morning God” is always
the best. I prepare myself and my
surroundings to be able to clear my mind, engage my spirit, and to observe the
Spirit at work in the world. The Spirit
is present with me throughout the day, but occasionally, I will re-enact that
first good morning sip of the Spirit at other times of the day when I
especially need to feel that presence of God with me.
See, God is made known in many ways through the work of the
Spirit, even in observing my own patterns and deep love of coffee. Do you have any rituals that you can relate
to the presence of the Spirit? Perhaps
your preferred beverage of choice is a soda or a cup of tea?
Good morning and may your day be filled with the experience
of the Holy Spirit in your life.
