Cast your cares on the
LORD and he will sustain you." Psalm 55:22
We were at the dentist last week waiting in the lobby for Jordan to get a cavity filled when I helped myself to a cup of coffee with cream. Maddi asked if she could taste it. I told her it was strong and there was no sugar. Her eyes flashed at me as if I had just dared her.
"One sip," I said, my voice firm and serious, only because that seemed like the motherly response I should have for this type of situation. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching me give my five-year-old coffee.
"Is it hot?" she asked before putting her pinkish lips around the rim of the Styrofoam cup.
I shook my head no. She took a gulp.
With the dare accomplished, Maddi's face sparkled with a dreamy expression as she replied, "Mmmm, now that's my kind of coffee."
I shook my head again, this time sighing. How is it that she can always make me laugh?
I thought about how something as simple as a cup of coffee is nearly like a lifeboat for me, several mornings when I'm not fully awake or ready to be awake. Many things I turn to, to get me through my day–a phone call to my sister, an email from a stranger who has read my book, close friends who listen to my woes or joys or all of the above, exercise, dark chocolate, down-time, writing time, a fried egg sandwich.
Lately I've been repeating a sentence to God when I find myself overwhelmed and tempted by life, tempted by food, tempted by laziness, tempted by depression–teach me to crave you, Lord. Stronger than coffee or anything else I've tried on this earth, He is really my only answer in how to carry on.
