Instant Coffee

My South African breakfast partner this morning was shocked that I was drinking coffee. She obviously didn’t know how desperate I was for caffeine. When I asked her why she was surprised, she said that most Americans won’t drink instant coffee. News to me. I would chunk the freeze-dried stuff into my mouth and crunch away if I were desperate enough, and probably lick the jar if needed.

Later I got to thinking about it and realized how much I preferred my brewed coffee over Sanka or Nescafe or even Maxwell House. Ricoffo seems to be the Nescafe version in South Africa. I don’t necessarily need Starbucks, but I do like coffee. More than missing my morning filtered coffee steaming out of my Cuisinart carafe (dutifully delivered by my adoring husband as soon as I rise from bed), I miss the devotional guide my friend Lorraine gave me at Christmas. One of the ways that we have stayed connected though living in different places is using the same guide. (BTW, after 20 years apart, we’ll be living in the same town soon!) This year, Lorraine and I are using a devotional designed to be drunk with the first or second cuppa each morning. Though Lorraine doesn’t drink coffee, her morning coke is a ritual. The devotional is called Daily Grind and written by a young lady as addicted to coffee as I am. One of the points made with the devotional is to yearn for God as much as yearning for the first cup of coffee in the morning.

May I be as needy for God as I am for my caffeine.