Salt in my Coffee

Greetings Dear Reader,

I love coffee.  I roast my own on my kitchen porch.  I savor it and never drink more than two cups in the morning.  I do not drink coffee after ten in the morning.  One of my friends once told me that I make coffee that tastes like coffee smells.  To me that is a very good thing.

Lately I have noticed that even the mildest cup of coffee gives me a churlish stomach.  I realize that this is just one of the indicators that I am growing older and that the machine that houses my spirit is beginning to wear down.  This is to be expected and tolerated but I am learning ways to slow the decline.

So as I write this my Saturday morning pot of coffee is brewing.  I can already smell the sweet aroma as it drifts on the drafts of my old farm house.  It is full of the promise of rich flavor and warm enjoyment.  It is medium roast, the last of my stores from what I was roasting the day my Grandson was born.  I can just barely hear the bubble and hiss of the coffee maker as it renders the rich brown liquid born of water and beans.  I would drink the coffee even if I knew that tummy tumults would be the result.

As the coffee began to wage its war on my digestion I remembered something I had learned a long time ago.  A few weeks ago as I prepared the filter for my freshly ground beans I put a pinch of salt in the bottom of the filter.  This tiny bit of salt gave me back my enjoyment of the coffee without the resultant digestive roller derby. 

I love good coffee and as in years past I do not over indulge (When in my twenties I drank a liter or more a day).  I can now enjoy it and not pay a price in pain.  It took only a minor adjustment that costs me nothing in flavor, texture, or aroma.  Since I wrote that last sentence I have gotten up a poured a cup of coffee.  It steams away just to the left of my keyboard. 

Like my coffee I had to make others adjustments in my life to continue to enjoy it as it changed around me.  I have had to learn to be kinder and gentler.  I am learning to be more patient with others.  My eldest Son loved me enough to check if I was “OK” yesterday as we spent some time together.  He has seen the tension in me and wanted to be sure that I was dealing with things.  He may not realize how healing his loving inquiry was for me.  He will now.  My Daughter makes me take my vitamins and cares enough to make sure I get enough rest.  My younger Son asked for some time with just him and I this weekend.  I know that I get these things because my children love me. 

I also know that making adjustments in who I am and how I approach life is making it more enjoyable for me and for those around me.  Any time I am more patient, kind, understanding, and loving I can neutralize a bit of the acid in life.  This is how following Christ is supposed to work.  I am supposed to make the flavor, texture, and aroma of following Christ stand out without injecting any bitterness or pain to the process.  It is worth every moment and every effort of the changing to do that for those I love.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."