To any of you that really know me, you probably know two things about me:
One is that I’m a strict non-traditionalist. As a pastor, for instance,I refuse to wear a robe, fight like hell for “something different” in worship, and for Lent I’ve often proposed “putting something on” for Lent instead of the usual.
The second is that I love my morning latte! “Starbucks hazelnut, non fat, half the flavoring, with an extra shot please!” On Sunday mornings I head to Mercury Coffee and order “a Blond Hawaiian, non fat, half the flavoring, with two extra shots, blended!" And when I’m trying to save cash, or just being normal, I fire up my Nespresso machine and brew a Double Expresso Dolce. And while that’s brewing I put my new “frother” to work for just the right combo of whole milk and creamer—heaven for sure!
And if Emerson, my grand daughter who is turning 6 today, is spending the night, the way to make her morning? “A ‘frothy’ with half vanilla creamer and half milk!”
As you can see, I love my Latte’s!
So why give in this Lenten season and “give up the thing I most love for Lent?” To be honest with you I think I was getting bored being so contrarian that I thought I’d try Lent the way I'm supposed to!
And so every morning for the last 9 days now, at about 6:22 a.m., my stomach starts growling, and I fire up the old Mr Coffee machine I found in the garage for a good, old fashioned “cup of Joe”. And do you know what I realized? The old “cup of Joe” is absolutely the foulest tasting thing in the world! I miss my Latte!
But, according to those who invented this practice, that’s exactly how this thing called Lent is supposed to work. You’re actually supposed to give up something you love, so that when you miss that something, you will instead, put your attention towards your relationship with God.
Well, God it’s working. Now every morning at 6:22, while I'm sipping the world’s most disgusting cup of coffee, I turn my grumpy disposition towards you!
Good luck with that, God! I’m not sure how this is going to work, but according to Cyndy, I’m all yours! Have fun with that!
Your friend and Pastor, a little bit on the grumpy side for 31 more days, Brook.
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