FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
(05/18/2008)
THE
DAILY GRIND
Cindy Hong
As a little girl,
I loved the smell of Dad's coffee. Insisting I wasn't tired, I would crawl
out of bed when I knew he'd be burning the midnight oil at the kitchen
table with a cup of instant coffee next to him. Crawling into his lap
(I was about 5 then) I would stick my nose into his mug and sniff. My
pleas for a sip were always answered with a “No, you're too young.” One
day he finally gave in and let me taste. No sooner did the coffee touch
my lips that I spit it right back into the cup. Next came the utter disbelief
of how such a delicious smelling drink could taste so bitter. It was horrible.
For the next 15 years I still loved the smell of coffee but wasn't the
least bit tempted for the second sip. That is, until my junior year of
college. It was still bitter, but the caffeine hit was awesome. I could
play, I mean study, without getting tired.
Now many years later, I would be hard pressed to get through
a day without coffee. The bitterness is now commonplace as I prefer to
drink it black. Yet why wouldn't I be as hard pressed to go a day without
God's word? If I need a cup of daily grind to get through the daily grind,
wouldn't it seem so much more so to need a slice of daily bread to get
through daily life as well? Isn't life grinding enough to not attempt
to get through it without the true source? But how often do I try to get
by on yesterday's faith or time with God? Yet I would never even think
to get by on yesterday's caffeine hit or even drink yesterday's leftover
coffee. It not only tastes gross, but it wouldn't get me through today,
psychologically or spiritually. We were meant to drink of God's character
and promises everyday. Our apprenticeship under Jesus Christ is a daily
thing, even an hourly thing, which seems to be the rate I need coffee
on some mornings. Through grounding our stories in God's story, our lives
have meaning, purpose, and that awesome caffeine hit. So, may we ingest
of God's provisions the same way some of us drink coffee and most of us
eat food…on a daily basis.
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