The Lord, Myself, and Coffee: Show and Tell

This is a feel-good post. Don't expect something to stomp on your toes today.

I often get bogged down in a muddled mess of this thing I call a life. I sit back and remember people and things that have emphatically danced out of my days, and without being aware of it, I begin to mourn. So for days--weeks, even--I lose myself in a spiral of heartache; wishing things were as they were before, pushing for my current hardships to cease. I'm not merely talking about trivial things, I swear. It's more than just, "I have this paper to do..." or "no one signed up to do the group project with me..." The things I grieve for are the things that are out of my hands--things that I can no longer hold on to and affectionately call my own.

But the other morning, God provided me with an amazing revelation. I've only recently begun to be down-right brutally honest with God (I suppose I had it reasoned that if I didn't tell Him what was really going on, then it wasn't real). This, however, is an idea for another blog, so hold that thought...
So in the midst of one of my brutally honest moments, God took away my words and showed me the good that has flown from my heartaches. I've met amazing people, and been given exceptional opportunities. I've grown closer to friends than I ever thought possible, and through my times of self-pity, He showed me the ways in which I could give what I had left to Him. I'm not telling you that I've got my life figured out. In fact, if there's anything that the past two paragraphs should be screaming at any reader right now it's that I've got a very long way to go, but to serve the God who gives grace despite so many of my shortcomings is well worth it.

Yep. With that said, I just wanted to share some things that made me smile this past week. Call them quaint quirks that God sent my way, if you wish.

1. Soup in a mug that smiles at me.