Ramblings from Retirement – Coffee and Lilies

Ramblings from Retirement – Coffee and Lilies
By Pastor (retired) Lee Hemen
April 8, 2022

I’m sitting here with my cup of coffee looking out my dining room window. I need to go out and put more birdseed in the birdfeeders. However, I enjoy this time away from the news and concerns of the world. It is the simple things in life that should cause us to pause and enjoy the moment. I have always enjoyed a simple cup of coffee, black, nothing else, ever since I was a child. Yep, I learned the joy of coffee when I was about five or six years old from my mother. Now her coffee could grow hair on a bald dog. She learned how to boil it in a skillet and make it about the consistency of thick black mud. A peculator pot was a new-fangled invention that she began to begrudgingly use and later we convinced her to use a drip coffee maker - a necessity electrical appliance that was constantly on from sunup until bedtime in her house. Interestingly, she drank her cup-o-Joe with lots of cream and two to three teaspoons of sugar (replaced by artificial sweetener later in life). She lived to be 92 years old.

Anyway, sitting here I am reminded of the words of Jesus found in Matthew’s gospel where Jesus encourages people to focus on the simplicity of the things of God: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:27-33 NIV84)”

Far too many of us spend far too much time worrying about this or that or the other thing in life. We forget that what we worry about today will not matter next year or even within a few weeks. I confess, I am a worrier so I know of what I speak, but I’ve learned – with the help of my sweet wife and the patience of the Lord – to take time not to worry. To allow the Lord to handle whatever is bothering me for the day.

Around us the white trillium lily blooms about this time of the year. They are a beautiful flower and only last a few days, no less than a week, simple yet beautiful. As I sit here enjoying the simple things in life I am reminded of these flowers and the words of the Lord. Let their beauty and his words sooth your soul today. Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or something else you enjoy and go for a walk or sit out on your porch and enjoy the life the Lord has given right now. Remember, it’s all about the simple things like coffee and lilies.
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This article is copyrighted © 2022 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

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