Coffee and friendship

I have always had a love for books that weaved history into a fictional story.  The stories of men and women living in a time where things are so much different than today, but at the same time they are so very much the same.  We are human and even though the human characters in those books that I read are fiction, they still have the same needs and wants as we do.  

Some of my favorite books, are a series about a husband and wife who travel from Sweeden to America in the 1800's to start a new life.  They leave everything behind to travel to a new world.  I  feel the excitement, adventure, loss, heartache, loneliness, creativity, and community weaved into the words and stories of these books, and they often leave me thinking about so many different things.  I feel the same way when I watch Downton Abby or Pride and Prejudice. 

I love how the women just dropped everything sometimes to "call" on someone.  Sometimes they would travel a short ways to catch up with a friend.  It was something that was worth the sacrifice of something for them to travel to the next farm to "call" on a friend.

  This is a tradition that has quickly been replaced over time with a telephone call or more recently a text.  Our hearts and souls crave community and conversation.  We have traded that community and those deep relationships for text messages and surface conversations, when our hearts desire more.  The crave more.  We are busy.  Let's face it, we juggle so many different hats each day that often times the moments of free time we have each day are spent zoning in front of the tv or soaking in the quiet after the kids go to bed.  Yet, how many of us go to bed tired and empty? 

My friends think I am obsessed with coffee.  I am not really.  To me coffee is a way for me to slow down and savor the moment.  I love getting a coffee when I grocery shop and run errands (I mean it's just too easy with Starbucks inside of Target, right?).  A friend was telling me about how she loves to drink her coffee in the morning when she gets to work.  She sits down, holding her coffee in her hands and takes a moment to breathe before starting her work day.  There is comfort in a cup of coffee (or tea). 

Another friend was going through a time where she needed to make more connections with other women, not just at church.  We were at the same Bible Study table and I was feeling the same way.  We started meeting once a month for coffee and we've been doing it for 2 years now.  We made it work with our schedules to sneak out after the kids are in bed and meet at the same Starbucks each time.  There are days when I think to myself, I could cancel and go to bed early because I am so tired, but we meet and instantly feel refreshed (and not a caffeinated energy, but that feeling of my cup being filled).  The conversation and encouragement that comes from slowing down and enjoying conversation that is deep and full of laughter and sometimes tears is so beautiful.

There is something wonderful about slowing down, enjoying a cup of your favorite drink (or even a bowl of ice cream).  There is something even more wonderful, when you combine that with friends and good conversation.  I remember when I asked some mom's from school if they would want to go out to dinner one night and have a girls' Night.  I wrestled back and forth. . . and I finally decided the worst they could do say was no.  But, guess what!  They didn't.  They wanted to go out to dinner with friends just as much as I did.  It's totally worth the risk to ask someone. 

 Do you feel lonely?  Or like something is missing from your life?  Do you need a friend? Do you need a break from your everyday tasks?  Take a risk and ask someone to meet at your local coffee shop and have some coffee.  Or invite someone over for a cup of coffee with some yummy creamer and put on a movie for your kids, while you sit and chat. 

Also. . . if you don't like coffee, please subsitute the word ice cream, boba, juice, tea, pastries, cake, cookies, fish tacos. . . the possibilities are endless!