Coffee, community, and Christ

There is a Starbucks about a half-mile from my house. As you enter there is a large black board with the photos and profiles of some Starbucks Drake and Shields store most valued customers. In dashing green letters across the top of the board it reads: Meet our Regulars! And in the bottom right hand corner of the board is my gleaming face, just thrilled about the prospect of being locally recognized as a coffee connoisseur.

If you know me well, you know that I hardly ever take myself too seriously. In fact, I didn't even take the Starbucks Regulars profile sheet seriously, including answering the questions of "Most enjoyed leisurely activity" with "cliff diving". But I do take seriously what happens over a cup of coffee at my local Starbucks. Looking back at those white cups with their little cardboard sleeves is a powerful way for me to reflect upon this past year, particularly in regards to relationships.

There is one friend in particular that I have met with for these past couple of months over a cup of coffee on Sunday evenings. We have agreed to spend the year together, learning more deeply what it means to be in relationship with each other as we grow in relationship with Christ. We have read a lot of scripture together and memorized some too. We've read a book, and committed to praying for each other every day. She is asking me the questions that no one else is and I am doing my very best to listen for God among the words that are spoken. Our conversations at Starbucks have left me both challenged and renewed all semester long. They also have painted for me a vivid picture of the way God intended us to be in relationship with one another.

Colossians 3:15-17 describes this idea of pursuing God in community. As quoted from the Message, "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ - the Message - have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever-be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." This friend and I are learning to live in step with one another, and through the pursuit of truth, in step with God.

I'm unsure how long my picture will remain the focal point of the west Fort Collins Starbucks entrance. But I am sure that I'll continue to visit there this spring. Amidst that I'm prayerful for another semester of relationships that keep me in step with others who are seeking the heart of God.