Why do I like coffee and coffee houses so much? That question hit me this afternoon. I had just gotten in my car for the long trip home from Raleigh. As I started my car, I realized I had a few swallows of coffee left over in a cup from earlier today. As I drank it, I began to smile, for it elevated my spirit – my mind filling with memories.
It wasn’t that long ago — maybe 6 years — when I made my first visit to a coffee house. Nicole had introduced Ana Maria and me to a small coffee shop on Western Boulevard. Ana and I hadn’t been married that long. This new experience was the first of a long line of new experiences.
Almost every Saturday after that, we would visit that coffee shop. We enjoyed all of the various coffees drawn from canisters lined up on a shelf along one wall. I remember the days we would sit and sip hot coffee for hours, planning where we would plant a flower garden, complete with rocks and shrubs, or discuss what color to paint the bedroom. On other visits, we would read scripture or read our Sunday School lesson. I remember when we were taking a special Bible study course, we would go to the coffee shop and review our lessons and do the homework, spending a large part of the day there.
But mostly, when we visited the coffee house, we talked – about everything! Somehow, Ana and I were lifted to a level of euphoria that can’t be understood or explained. And when the weather was cold or rainy, our moments conversing with one another over a cup of steaming hot coffee elevated our spirits even higher!
Why do I like coffee and coffee houses so much? Most days, I will only have one cup of coffee in the morning. It is not that I need alot of caffeine to get through the day, or that I cannot live without the taste. For what excites my senses the most are the memories of simple pleasures shared with the most wonderful and beautiful person in the world. Because of God’s goodness towards me, I have come to love coffee houses – and coffee.
