4
Coffee Fairy
Black. No cream. No sugar. Iced, preferably. That’s how I like my coffee. I used to drink sugary Frappuccino’s and pumpkin spice lattes, but then I turned into a super health freak for a short stint in my life. As I write this, I’m eating a donut, so please note the word “short.” Though my diet isn’t perfect, I still love a big cup of black coffee. If you are more of a “tea” person then I would love to sit down with you over a cup of- coffee and find out more about how you really get your energy. Until then, please find and replace with the word “tea” as you read on through this chapter.
Coffee plays a big part in our lives other than giving us liveliness for our day. When I really think about coffee, I think about all the important things that happen around it. A cup of Joe can last as long as you need a conversation to continue- or it can be chugged if you really need a conversation to end. I’ve had a guy ask me out over a cup of coffee at 6 in the morning. I’ve broken up with someone over a cup of coffee. I’ve pondered life with friends while sipping on an Americano. I’ve had small groups meet over coffee. I’ve laughed with my mother about silly things from my childhood while drinking iced coffee in the hot sun of Florida. As I continue to connect the dots, I see that this simple drink that starts from a bean can bring people together. It almost seems like it can make us vulnerable, which is a good thing and a bad thing in itself. We crave our coffee in the morning like we crave intimacy and honesty between friends, family, and significant others. Maybe we are addicted to it; to the feeling it gives us?
As much as I love enjoying a cup of coffee with friends, it ends up being the simpler moments by myself where I feel even more rejuvenated. Every morning I sit in bed with a cup of coffee and have my personal devotional time, cuddled under the warmth of my comforter as the sun leaks in through my windows. I sit and talk with God, write down things that are going on in my life and just take in the beauty of peace and the smell of a dark French roast. I could stay in this moment all day. Sometimes these moments happen in a bustling coffee shop as I drown out passing conversations and loud blenders. Now and again when I look up, it’s as if God was sitting there the whole time enjoying a cup of coffee with me. That’s the cool thing about being in a relationship with Him- you never really feel alone. His warmth is always there, even if it’s in a coffee mug and a silent prayer in Starbucks.
Between working a full time job, being heavily involved in student ministry, and lots of trips to the gym, I end up drinking a lot of coffee- more than I can afford. I make as much at home as I can and drink out at Starbucks when I can’t. Let’s just say I’ve been a gold member for a while now. One day, I woke up to a pleasant surprise. I had received a $50 Starbucks gift card signed anonymously with something like, “Hey, I know you are going through big transitions in your life and you are doing a lot in student ministry and at your church. Here is something to keep you going. You deserve it.” I couldn’t believe that someone would do that for me. My life truly was scary and exhausting for me in that season as I graduated college and was stepping into full time ministry. But, why would anyone truly care or pity me for all the hours that I spent running myself to the ground with high school students? It was my choice after all. I had no idea who sent it and to this day, over a year later, I still don’t know, but whenever that card runs low my coffee fairy reloads it. It’s as if they know that this little aspect of my life, my cup of coffee, means so much to me. Or maybe, it’s the people I share it with that truly bring value to this crazy story I’m writing.
Last summer I took a mission trip to Nicaragua with the high school students of Spring Branch. We spent some time in the mountains of Matagalpa and I fell in love with the people there. Our translator Pedro told us that Matagalpa is known for its coffee and that Starbucks even sources some of their product from this beautiful area of Nicaragua. I was amazed! Pedro continued to tell us that his family runs a coffee farm, but their sales have been so low for the past couple of months that they were thinking of closing down. This was devastating to him, to me, and not just for selfish reasons of my need for coffee. Our team got together and decided that we loved coffee enough to buy 40 bags of coffee from his family’s coffee farm. That same trip, the director of OrphaNetwork bought 20 bags just for himself. Pedro couldn’t believe it. In a matter of 5 days, his family’s business made enough profit to stay open and stay selling coffee. More than just bringing income to a family in need, we brought hope. That week, we were Pedro’s coffee fairies.
As I look at this magical drink, I realized I want my relationships to look just like my cup of coffee. I want them to be strong. I want them to be real without all the added extras. I want them to be something I come to every day as a reminder of how much I need them in my life. Most of all, I want them to be diverse. I’ve tried a thousand different flavors of coffee, all of which have slight differences that make them unique. I welcome these diverse relationships into my life with open arms knowing that each one will shape me differently and allow me to see something new each day. Ephesians 3:12 says, “When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go.” My new prayer is to be bolder like God, like my dark cups of coffee because they seem to get the job done and with more love. As I look at my relationship with God, I can only hope that it is the strongest relationship I’ll ever tend to. It may sometimes feel bitter, but it’s bold and it’s a recipe I’ll be working on my whole life.
Ashley Gillies, Pastoral Assistant at Spring Branch, Writer, Evening Edition Girlfriends Group Member