Coffee Date No. 16

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you how glad I am that it is starting to feel like fall in South Carolina. You know the scene in You’ve Got Mail when Tom Hanks is emailing Meg Ryan about New York in the fall and school supplies and sending her a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils? That pretty much encapsulates my love for fall. The back to school aisle in Target is my mecca. The weatherman says that it won’t get above 86 degrees all week, and when you live in South Carolina, that means fall is on the horizon. bring on the corn mazes and the crunchy leaves and the warm drinks and the boots and cardigans (imagine Julie Andrews singing about her favorite things).  

If we were on a coffee date, I'd ask how you feel about September being the new January. I’m a big fan of the idea that September is the new January. The wild of summer has begun to fade and be replaced by familiar routines. Even though I’m long graduated and don’t have littles of my own to carpool, take first day pictures of, and pack lunches for, something about September just feels like a fresh start with new rhythms and possibilities. I’m going to go ahead and blame my love of rhythm and routine on the fact that I’m an INFJ. I’m sure that C would laugh and call this an INFJ ex machina.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd share that this week is National Suicide Prevention Week. To Write Love on Her Arms' campaign this year is about staying and finding what you were made for, and I couldn't be more in love with that. I shared a photo on Instagram late last night and wrote about the healing power of staying. There have been times in my life where I have been tempted to jerk the wheel, and I honestly thought that no one would notice if I was gone. There are still a lot of days when I have to scream out loud that fear is not the boss of me. But I'm convinced that staying has been the most healing thing, and that fighting for joy is holy rebellion. And I'd probably go deep and ask what it is you feel like you were made for, because that kind of stuff seriously makes my soul feel so alive.

If we were on a coffee date, we'd probably chat about Harvey and Irma. Man, what a crazy, sobering month it has been. I cannot even imagine the devastation in Houston and in our neighboring countries to the south. I've seen the photos, though, and there are two that stand out in my mind above the rest: the first is of a Houston police officer carrying a woman and her infant through the water, and the second is of a black man rescuing two children. If I'm honest, I've been feeling something a little past jaded when it comes to our country lately, but I'm grateful for the America I see in their faces. They make me feel hopeful.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd ask what you're meditating on in scripture lately. I just love The Bible so much. I don't say that to sound super Christian-y, either. These days, I'm thinking long and hard on Ephesians 3. I whisper to myself about the mystery of Christ and being rooted and established in love as I load the dishwasher, and I know that God is showing me what that looks like.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you about a podcast that C and I are listening to called Blue Babies Pink. It's Brett Trapp's 44 part story of being a gay Christian in the south, and I seriously cry at least once in every episode. I pray that Jesus would make me so, so tender to the needs of my neighbors. I cannot encourage you enough to go download every episode and listen. You can also visit Brett's blog here.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you about the fire in my heart to write. I'm feeling so hotly steeped these days, and there's that line in a Brooke Fraser song that goes "I know I'm filled to be emptied again." I just want to pour it all out, and these words are the only way that seems to fit my soul. I don't know how they're going to come out, but I know I feel ready.

If we were on a coffee date, of course I'd ask about your heart. And I'd probably cry when I do this, because I've been crying a lot lately. I just hope that you know that you are the beloved, and that nothing could ever erase that birthmark.

What would you share on our coffee date? I am all ears.