Unless you pay close attention or are super in to coffee, you probably don't give much thought to how your coffee is made at your local coffee shop. Let alone, think of the long journey your coffee has taken just to make it into your cup. Oh sure, you may look at the bag and see to word "Guatemala" on it and think, ooh exotic. But, then the thought ends there. There's a vast difference between drip, pour over, French press, and espresso. While the brewing methods may clearly look different, you may not realize just how brutal the brewing process can be for an espresso bean. Not only is the method different, the product that comes after is also vastly different in taste. Their strengths are not the same.
I've looked around a lot lately, and there is a lot of heaviness in my little corner of the world. So much sorrow, pain, and despair. So much hurt and confusion. We look at our lives and then we look at the lives of others thru our own eyes and we think, "why can't I be like that?". Why can't my life be less stressful? Or why can't this pain and suffering just end? But the life of a believer is not one of ease. Nor is following Jesus a simple contract of "believe in me, and experience no hardship".
You think of the life of a coffee bean. It's already had to grow. It's had to mature and after that, it's plucked from it's home. A home it's known it's entire life. It's then thrown into a barrel filled with hundreds of other little coffee beans. A seemingly uneventful occurrence. This singular bean doesn't stand out from the rest. It looks the same and feels the same. Then is tossed around and roasted. Yikes! This roasting of the bean may seem light and not harmful thru our human eyes, but I am sure if the beans could talk, they might have a different story. An uncomfortable experience I am sure. Change almost always is. The beans are then placed in a bag with no air and shipped all over. Tossing around in boxes here or there. And then the moving stops and there's a stillness. An uneasy place of being shelved and hearing all the commotion around you. Un able to see what may be coming your way. Imagine being this little coffee bean for a moment. If the beans had feelings, there might be some discomfort being still in the waiting for what might come next. We as humans don't very much like this part of life. Being still. Waiting. Not knowing what the future holds.
Now. That's just the first part of the journey for this bean. When it finally makes it to the shop, the barista opens the bag, she smells this delicious aroma. She is overtaken by it's beauty. She has a plan for what this bean will become and the joy it will eventually bring to others. Little does the bean know, it's most traumatic event has not yet happened. The grinding. Did you know, one of the key components to a good shot of espresso is the type of grind? It's true. Generally there is a course grind, meant for drip coffee. A medium course grind for pour over/French press and a fine grind for espresso. Espresso however is very strong and when done right, smooth in taste. The grinding process is loud and and it shreds into the coffee beans. It tears at it's very essence and destroys what shape or form the beans may have had previously. In our lives, when we begin to experience this kind of change we fight it. We feel the pain and we agonize over it. We want this to stop. The problem is, if stopped too quickly, you wind up with a weak cup of coffee. Hardly any flavor, and there's no smoothness to it's taste. So, we press on. The grinding continues to the point where what once was a bean, is no longer recognizable in it's previous form. As Christians, this should be us. God continually refining us until we no longer resemble ourselves or the people we once were. It can be a painful process. But when we finally surrender to God's calling on our lives, we're softer. There is a reason it's called a course grind. It doesn't feel good on your skin. The remnants of the torn up beans are sharp and jagged. They hurt. They cause damage and are abrasive. Let us not be a course grind.Let us not cling to the things of our past. Let us continue the course and press on until we're usable. At last, though a painful endeavor, we become a fine grind. But not yet ready to pour. The term "espresso" in Italian really means hard pressed, or pressed out. Although the grinding process is now over, there are still more trials to come. Then we are packed into this little portofilter. Once again The Artist's hands are still taking care to shave off the areas that aren't needed and fitting us into this one consolidated area. There's a leveling out. And for the first time, being pressed down. It's painful but short. Once locked into the machine, there's a heating. Extreme, scalding, hot water hits the surface and rests there for a moment as the pressure builds. Finally, a heavyness follows and once again the scalding hot water is pressed thru the fine grinds and out flows... espresso. Dark, rich creamy espresso. A long journey took place and typically is not given it's due. A horrifying experience for the bean, turns into a strong shot of espresso. The journey for the Christian is not much different I should think. We experience change when we choose to place our trust in Jesus. But so often, when we first experience either the roasting or the grinding, we turn away to find some other way to ease the pain. I caution you dear christian. For a course grind produces weak coffee. My one encouragement to you, if your are fighting a battle and feel you are being hard pressed on all fronts, STAY THE COURSE! Don't give up. If you are stuck and don't know which direction to go, just do the next right thing and keep pressing on. For thru your faithfulness, God will reveal His strength and He will guide and direct your path. Your trials you've faced and are facing will be used. For you can't have espresso without first roasting and grinding your coffee beans. I want to share this verse as I am being constantly reminded of it.
2 Corinthians 4:8,9,16-18
"8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 1:4
"who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
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