Being a retired librarian, I fondly remember numerous stories, tales, legends and fables. At this time of year, going into a new year, a favorite comes to mind. So pour yourself a cup of something warm and yummy and enjoy this tale, "The Legend of the Empty Coffee Cup or Who Made this Mess?".
Once upon a time, a spry retired librarian, who we'll call Sandy, rose for her early quiet time and coffee to start the day. As she had done for hundreds of previous mornings, she turned on the Keurig, removed the used pod, popped in a new one (Hmmm, she thought, Santa's White Christmas sounds good today) and pressed the start button. She then turned to put a few dishes away, check her phone which was charging on the counter, and waited for the sound of the end of the brew. Just before hearing the beep, her adoring and ever-observant husband, who we'll call John, entered the kitchen and said, "Who made this mess?" Since there were only 2 people in the house, the question was moot. She turned and was surprised to see the coffee, not steaming from a cup but spreading all over the counter and down the front of the kitchen cabinet! "What the heck, she uttered mildly, I just wasted an expensive SWC pod on this! And what a hot mess (literally!) to clean up!" Being the efficient homemaker that she was, plus possessing an innate ability to find the good in things, she wiped up the coffee, brewed a new cup, and thought "there's a story in this"!
And so there is! Going into a new year, we often want to know what's in store for us. More than that, we want to know what God has in mind for us, especially since the previous year featured some real "interesting challenges". More than ever, considering the past year, I'm looking for more joy. I'm re-reading an incredible 90 day devotional by Mike Mason titled "Champagne for the Soul". A good friend recommended it when I was going through breast cancer in 2005 and it has never failed to bring me out of whatever funk I might be wallowing or just tip-toeing through. But God can't pour His joy and blessings into a cup that's already full, or one that has day-old coffee, or grounds settling on the bottom. He wants to fill us with his unfathomable blessings on a daily basis. This can't happen if we don't offer Him our empty cup. A season of limitless possibility lies ahead of us. A clean freshness. Do you want stale coffee or a fresh, hotly brewed cup...all the way to the brim? You know, "the best part of waking up" and living your life "good to the last drop". (You didn't know those coffee slogans could be so spiritual, did you?).
This New Year, let's follow Paul's admonition to the Phillipians to "forget what lies behind and strain towards what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize." The Lord wants to do a new thing for and in you, so you need to let go of the past for a better future. Empty your cup so He can fill it. Toss off the past pain, regrets, failures, unforgiveness, troubles and the energy spent on trying to re-live it and as the Soup Nazi said in Seinfeld "Next!"
I'm looking forward to having more of the joy of the Lord this year, friends. As Mike Mason writes in one of his "sips of champagne", "Joy...lies right under our noses, often in the most ordinary experiences. If we spent the next year simply enjoying who we are and what we have, we'd be much further ahead than by striving for more. What we need most ...is a quiet realization of what already is." Join me in the adventure. Stay grounded in the Lord, offer Him your empty cup and see what happens! I know it will be an exciting ride!
