The Birthing Place of Coffee on The Couch
It was the week of October 6th and I was at “my place of assignment”. Notice I did not say “my place of employment” or “my workplace” nor “my job” but “my place of assignment”. (Assignments – that’s another Blog, for another day.) Nevertheless, I have been assigned to Saint Francis United Methodist Church, in Cary, North Carolina, for the past fifteen years.
As a part of the church’s Missions Ministry, they host homeless families three times a year through an organization called Family Promise. Three times a year, the church puts its internal operations on hold and considers the needs of others. Ministry meetings are canceled or either reassigned meeting spaces while classrooms are rearranged and set-up for families to come and take residence. It is a make shift home until a permanent home is established.
During this particular week of October 6th, Saint Francis was preparing to welcome its host of residents. The staff was anticipating the moment when the hallways of our building would be filled with chairs, tables, and couches. The classrooms would be transformed into one-room studios. While for one-week, single moms and their children or possibly husbands and wives and their children would find respite on our church campus.
On Friday, October 11th, a co-worker and myself were talking. We were joking about all the furniture that needed moving and where it would eventually end up – in the hallway right outside our offices. The biggest pieces that we would need to maneuver around would be the couches. Those big, “comfy”, soft ones, where when you sit down on them, they hug your body – ohhh … so cozy. Sometimes on the days where we felt a little tired or just wanted to get away for a moment, we would always tease about going down the hall to the Youth Ministry room to sit on the couches and exhale.
On this particular Friday, we were lightheartedly talking about having a cup of coffee. Then it happened, at the same time, we both said, “we could have coffee on the couch”. Once we spoke those words, something resonated in my spirit. My co-worker went down the hall thinking nothing of it, but the words kept ringing in my ears – coffee on the couch. You know how it is when God is trying to get you to pay attention to something He’s saying and it just won’t leave you? So, I asked Him, “God, what do You want to do with this?” Knowing the direction that He is leading me into and the call upon my life to pen His voice, it settled in my spirit – a Blog page.
So here I am, in a position that I have never been before but at the same time, in a place that is quite familiar to me. Join me next time for Coffee on The Couch.