Coffee Reflections
It happened in a flash. My coffee cup tumbled over spilling hot coffee onto my books, my computer and the floor. I jumped up quickly to rescue my laptop grabbing kitchen towels to dry off the keyboard. Relieved that it was still working, I snatched some paper towels and headed back to the table to clean up the mess I had made. Instead I found wonder and beauty. The coffee had created a colorful reflection of my stained glass window mixed with morning sunlight on the table. Turning on my heels, I went instead to retrieve my camera. Coffee dripped down the table legs as I endeavored to capture the colorful impressions. I didn’t care. I was caught up, suspended in the moment.
It made me wonder.
Sometimes I spend a good deal of energy trying to stay in control. I am like that coffee cup, holding my contents just where they are supposed to be at all times. It must take a lot of effort, making sure I don’t spill anything because I get so tired sometimes. Often I don’t think I can take one more drop in my cup. I am easily overwhelmed. How in the world will I keep it all in there? Clenching my jaw, I am not letting anything else out or in. Then it happens. Thank God, it happens. The cup is overturned and the contents are spilled out into complete vulnerability. There is nothing to hold them but God.
But God.
I hear him say, “Finally. I can finally get something done here. Can you see the colors and the light? See the reflections of heaven in here? See me in here? I am here you know. I am present and dwelling in you. You can trust me. See how beautiful you are when I hold you out in the light? Let your inmost places rush to the edges of all that is me. I’ve got you.”
He says those things to me when I spill my coffee.
I felt like a little girl playing in my coffee and reflections today, not worrying about anything else. Remember those days? Remember mud pies? The only difference is I was the one mopping up the mess instead of my mom. (Love you for doing that for years, mama. And thanks for letting me play in the mud.)
God wants you to let him have it all. You don’t have to try so hard. He’s got you and your mess. He wants to show you something lovely in your vulnerability.
Let go. It will be an adventure.
Psalm 36:9 ~”You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.”
There You Are
7 Comments
Love this!
Oh, I love this so much!! Mrs. Maryanne, the favor of God is so clearly on you. It makes me swoon, seeing how obviously He pursues you because it is a direct reflection of how He pursues us all. I love your blog. And more importantly, I love how it so clearly displays God’s valiant, loving, heroic and tender character. Thank you!
Love this! Needed this message so much today. I will let a God in to my mess, my vulnerability, so that I can let the light of Christ shine through it… There I will see His beauty and feel his presence the most. Thank you Maryanne for triggering this way of thinking today.
so good. beautiful message coming through that beautiful writing
I would give anything of I could relive those days of you playing in the mud. I would bring you in, give you a bath and put clean clothes on you only to find you right back digging in the dirt again. That is why I am not surprised that you love to garden. Now, here you are again playing in your spilled coffee. Haha! I love you so much!
My favorite so far. Probably because it speaks to me so much. What a blessing your project is!
I love that phrase “but God”. When you read it you always find something wonderful follows. Great blog. Love it.