What do you do when you go to bed sleepy and then the “wide eye” strikes? That was me last night. No worries invading my thoughts … because, as far as I know, I had no thoughts. No rehashing of Sunday’s services or concerns about today. I listened to the rain. I turned on some calming music. I watched a rather uninteresting movie on an app. Nothing worked. Finally, sometime between 3:30 and 4, I drifted off to sleep. Now it’s a little after 6, and I’m up, showered, let Tori out and fed her, and am staring at my first cup of coffee.
Then a strange thought crossed my mind. Who was the first person to look at a coffee bean and think, “I wonder if I can drink that?”
Seriously. Coffee beans don’t exactly jump out and scream, “Drink me”. Someone had to pick the bean, roast it, grind it, pour hot water over it, and discover that something wonderful was hidden inside. I could’ve walked past coffee plants (are they plants?) every day of my life and never imagined any of that.
Then I pondered: How often do we do the same thing with God?
We walk past ordinary moments, ordinary people, ordinary circumstances, and never imagine what God might have hidden within them. We see a problem and miss the possibility. We see a setback and miss the lesson. We see a stranger and miss a future friend. We see a burden and miss an opportunity for grace.
Faith often begins with holy curiosity.
The disciples saw five loaves and two fish, and a hungry crowd of thousands. They saw scarcity. Jesus saw a feast. The difference wasn’t what they were looking at. The difference was what they imagined God could do with it.
Perhaps that is one reason God delights in revealing extraordinary things through ordinary means. God is showing off! Okay, maybe God’s trying to get our attention. And let’s just say that some days that takes a lot of effort on God’s part.
This morning, a mind devoid of anything but coffee reminded me that God often places possibilities right in front of us, opening our eyes to see beyond what is obvious and familiar. Holy curiosity isn’t asking what I can do with or about something; it’s imagining what God can do.
What ordinary thing might you ponder today … and in it see the wonder of God?
Prayer: Lord, help me see more than coffee beans. Help me see more than circumstances. Help me see more than the obvious. Give me eyes to recognize your possibilities hidden in ordinary places, and faith to believe in your unexpected blessings from unlikely sources. Amen.
