Over Coffee

 

There is nothing like meeting a long-time, very good friend for a weekly coffee and something yummy to eat. We generally go to the same café each week, as they have a great selection of food meaning we can indulge our taste and steer free of our food intolerances.

We take turns providing transport and often have a little conversation that goes like this:

“Where shall we go today?”

“Would you like to go to …..?”

“If you’d like to.”

“Will they have a good gluten free selection?”

“I’m not sure but I’ll find something.”

“Let’s just go to the usual. We know there is food we both like there.”

“Sounds great.”

So we go to the ‘usual’. We know that not only do they have good food, but they also have great staff and make an excellent cup of coffee. We can generally find a corner table where we will be undisturbed, even if we stay for a couple of hours (which we regularly do).

We talk about all sorts of different subjects—our families, the new exciting thing at church, people we admire, national and local news, our opinions on government policies or legislation and anything else that comes to mind. We endeavor to be obedient to God in our talk. It is a time also for sharing personal difficulties and encouraging each other, knowing that when we talk to each other it will be held in confidence.

The staff know us well and we often have nice little chats with them. We make a point of thanking them and encouraging them also. Sometimes you just know the opportunity is God ordained. We were recently talking to a lovely server who mentioned that she was a Christian. This broadened the discussion somewhat and as it wasn’t busy at the time, she lingered at our table. She was feeling discouraged about her daughter who had been brought up to know God, but had since wandered from the faith. We talked about Proverbs 22:6 which says:

 ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ (New King James). She felt this meant that a child would never go astray so it didn’t apply to her daughter.

A few days later, I found a wonderful word about this in my daily bible reading explaining that if children learn about the things of God when they are young, even if they go astray when they grow older eventually they will find that things of the world won’t satisfy them and they will come back to their spiritual roots (Word for Today 25 July 2023).

I cut out the piece and put it in an envelope in my handbag. When we next saw her, I gave it to her and she was grateful to have a new understanding of the scripture.

So folks, talk to your children about spiritual matters and trust God to bring them back to their roots as they grow older.

Blessings.