Coffee Break with a Friend or a Stranger?

Life can be so very busy that we fail to take time for the best things that God has called us to do.  You may be thinking that this is a blog to promote coffee drinking and it may be in part.  We are living in days where social media is a big part of our lives but we rarely get away from our phones or computers to spend time with others over a cup of coffee.  By virtue of my job, I spend a great deal of time with people and much of it is over coffee.  In fact, I do love a good cup of coffee!  I love technology as well and I have the latest gadgets but I do not have a Facebook account and this is not to say I would never have one.  However, one on one time with people is a lost art and I'm afraid that it could substitute what God truly has planned for me.

Few people take the time to communicate at a transparent heart level with one another.  Many people live with their guards raised high in order to keep a little protection for themselves.  Some of us may be fearful that if others truly knew the real us then they would never be accepting of us.  Some of us have been hurt by others so severely that we will never allow another person to enter into our lives or allow them to go to a deep level within us.  

Another challenge is that most of us don't have enough time for ourselves much less someone else.  God has called us to reach out to a hurting world that knows nothing about the message of hope and to share the hope of Jesus Christ with them.  Christians are also told in Galatians 6:2 to "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."  We are forced to ask the question, are we truly outward focused with our lives so that we slow down enough to be concerned about others?  When was the last time we went out with a friend or a neighbor just to get to know them better and see how they were doing?  God has given us the gift or relationships, communication, and love in order to be able to share with the world around us--hopefully they can see Christ-like love within us because we take time to "smell the coffee" with them.