Before COVID, my Saturday mornings were spent at Starbucks with what my husband lovingly referred to as our Starbucks Gang. That was now history, since we hadn’t met for over a year. My drink of choice (I don’t like coffee) had been vanilla chai. So, the other day when I was out running errands, my trek took me right by Starbucks. You could go in and order…and then leave. Sounded good to me. I went in.
The barista actually remembered me. Recited my drink order exactly as I liked. Nonfat. Light ice. Vanilla chai. Two pumps chai. And for a treat, I asked if there were any more petite scones in the back. “There’s only one in the case.” She left to check and returned with three small paper sacks which she promptly placed in a larger paper bag with handles. Before I could ask why such a big bag for three small scones, my drink order was called.
It was a beautiful day, so instead of going to my car, I sat at an outside table. I reached in the paper bag and pulled out a huge blueberry scone…not what I ordered and certainly not one of my favorites. And lucky me, I had two more in the bag. Oh well. I could deal with it, so began eating. When I took a big swig of my chai, I knew it wasn’t correct. I read the label on the cup. Full chai. Lots of caffeine. No vanilla. Just how picky did I want to be? If I went back in, they would re-do the whole thing.
It just wasn’t worth the effort.
As I sat there, my thoughts turned to Easter in a few days. I thought of Jesus’ life. God’s plan to redeem us. Jesus endured beatings and being mocked, then was nailed to a cross and died. For us. As God looks down on the mess we’ve made in this world, does He think, “It just wasn’t worth the effort”?
The God I’ve come to know values mankind too much to say that.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son…..” John 3:16 (NLT)
Joy, thanks for once again inspiring me to see beyond the ordinary. Powerful message.
Rita, thanks so much for your encouragement. I wasn’t sure about the response to this one. (But then I usually feel that way about all of them).
I feel the same way each time I finish writing a novel. I believe it’s part of the creative process. I enjoy your books so much and often read them in the morning to put a positive spin on my day.