bonus coffee

Our coffee pot, like most, makes only a certain amount of coffee with each brew. It is the same amount everyday, every week, month to month. With the coffee drinkers in our house and the size of our cups, that can be broken down into a simple coffee equation: 1 brewed pot = 2 cups for my mom + 2 cups for my dad + 2 cups for me. There are times, however, when there are variables in the coffee equation. For instance, on the weekend, my husband, will have a cup and there will be a shortage of caffeinated goodness. On the other hand, there is the occasion when there is a surplus of coffee. Such as when my mom has to get to work early, so she only drinks one cup; or the days when my dad is sick, and doesn't grace the kitchen to pour his second cup. Those are the days that make my caffeine veins smile, because those are the days when I get "bonus coffee."

We have the type of coffee maker that doesn't use a carafe. It has an enclosed brewing system, and you must hold your cup up to a lever that then dispenses one cup at a time. The water mark is broken that tells you how much coffee is left in the pot, so you never know if your cup will fill with dark deliciousness, or be victim to the last drips left in the hidden carafe. Knowing this, and knowing that on occasion there is a surplus of coffee, everyday - even if I have already had my two cups of coffee - I hold my cup up to the lever, hoping (and today, praying) for "bonus coffee."

I am active in the leadership team of our Community Bible Study. It is my first year serving as a group leader, and today I went to leaders council and was given all the information that I need to lead my group on Thursday. I was feeling a little whelmed at the task ahead of me, so I gathered my materials, my phone, and my coffee cup. I held my cup up to the pot and hoped for some "bonus coffee" to get me through my phone calls and studying. Wahoo! Bonus coffee! Thank you Lord!

I drank my coffee and finished my phone calls. Next, I had to time out my lesson and prepare an opening statement. Boy, I sure could use some more coffee...but I already got bonus coffee...I wonder... So I headed off to the kitchen, coffee cup in hand...

I have also been doing another bible study, entitled Believing God by Beth Moore. Its premise is that so many times we believe in who God is, but we don't believe in what He can do. There are so many things that we dismiss or do not turn over to God because we don't think He can change circumstances or hearts, we don’t believe His promises, and we don’t believe His strength. God raised the dead - could anything require more strength than that? Yet, I often find myself timid to believe that He will work a miracle in my life. Which is crazy, I know, because I totally believe that God is who He says He is, and can do what He says He can do. But, I can see from my prayer life that I am not claiming the power of God. I have been praying for my dad to make some changes to improve his health and well-being, but I have doubts that it will happen. I have been praying for my mom to know Jesus, but I have accepted that she might not... what on earth am I thinking, right? So, already in the first week of this study, I have made the commitment to believe that God not only can, but that He will.

...So I enter the kitchen and get butterflies in my stomach. My prayer goes like this: "God, I know you can do all things. I know You can raise the dead, You can change hearts, and You most certainly can make sure there is coffee in the coffee pot. I know that I have already had "bonus coffee" today, but You fed thousands with a couple fish and a few loaves of bread, so I believe You will do this, too. Above all, I desire Your will, and even if You don't let brown gold flow into my cup, I still believe in You and my eternal salvation. Amen."

Well, God is great, and He showed me today that His majesty is not dependent on my level of belief. I started crying as my coffee cup filled - joyful tears of reverence, love, and abundance.