I have one job first thing in the morning. It’s an important one. In fact, it is key to making the rest of the day count. If I fail, it could impact countless lives and alter the destinies of many with whom we come into contact.
What is it? It’s the coffee. It’s my job to make the coffee. Don’t scoff or gnash your teeth at me, I take it seriously. And I’ve reduced it to an art.
What? You think I’m making a big deal about brewing coffee? Well, it’s essential if you are a coffee snob like me. So much so, that every morning I’m home I grind my own coffee beans. I know, impressive right?
Here’s how it goes on a normal day. I wake up about 15 minutes before my wife, carefully measure the correct number of scoops of beans, fill the grinder and the water reservoir then press the button. Then, I wait. (Told you it was an art!)
But the other day things went south. I broke my routine and prepped the coffee the night before since we were getting up earlier than normal. I set it and forgot it, literally!
The next morning I awoke and went downstairs to pour the coffee. There was only one thing that seemed a bit off, I couldn’t smell the aroma. I thought maybe it was just me. I went over and touched the thermos container and it was hot. I grabbed my coffee cup highly anticipating that first sip. I poured and – it was hot, clear water.
Guess who did everything but put the beans in the grinder? This guy!
I made it again. When my wife heard the grinder she asked me what had happened I simply said, “I’m not telling you!” I was embarrassed. I did come clean later on and we had a good laugh about it.
I should have known something was wrong when there was no aroma. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh coffee. In fact, the aroma is richest during the roasting and the brewing. But in between the grinding must occur. You can’t get from the roasting phase to the brewing phase without it.
There is such a parallel to life. It’s what happens between the roasting and brewing that makes it all possible, and that’s the grinding.
The grind is the part of life that everyone has to do but no one likes. Why?
Far too many people are looking for shortcuts in life. Quick ways to find their purpose and fulfill it. Fast ways to make money online. Rapid-fire techniques to infuse their life with the romance they deserve.
“Take a pill, read a book, attend a seminar and all the secrets of success can be yours!” the advertisements promise.
They don’t tell us about the grinding. That’s the late nights, the broken promises, the lost sales, the crumbled relationships and at times, the shattered dreams.
We can’t brew something important with our lives without the grind. It doesn’t mean you have to relish pain or do a happy dance when you experience adversity. What it does mean though is the best aroma of your life will likely come out of those moments.
Sometimes you will get tired of the grind and feel like giving up. You may wonder why everything seems so hard. So, what do you do when that grind seems unbearable? Keep going. God will brew something spectacular out of it all.
And remember most of all, you just can’t get to the good stuff without the grind.