I woke knowing I had a problem. My awareness started yesterday as I ground fresh coffee beans for my wife’s trip. If I was going to give her enough, every bean in the house would be needed. Ideally, a trip to the roaster would be scheduled. I had not anticipated and acted in time. Consequently, I woke to a problem. I had no fresh coffee.
In my call for help, I searched the kitchen cabinets, hoping that I had stashed something somewhere that would suffice. The good news is that my call was answered. The side news, it was not what I expected.
Even as I sip the flavoured coffee, I can hear life reminding me of the solutions to my problems. There are several lessons I can carry into today.
Cries for help are heard. Beyond this, “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.” (Romans 10.13). The essential reminder I often forget is that I am never forgotten. I am a child of Divinity. Divinity knows who I am. My calls to God never go unheard. In the darkness of the soul’s night, it can seem like I am lost and alone. In the darkness and silence, Divinity is present, listening, and responding.
Answers are not always what one expects. In my case this morning, it was a flavoured coffee in an unusual delivery pack. It worked in ways I did not expect. It reminded me of what I was seeking. It also created a fresh motivation to act. The unexpected opened a door to a new day of opportunities and steps forward.
Solutions are often aids. It takes more than one element. Yes, I am involved. In this case, beans, a grinder, a French press, and beans played their part in a full response. Cries for help often call for everyone in the family to respond. Compassion needs to be active. Engagement is essential. I am reminded to leave no one behind.
I think of those who have gone before me, often at great sacrifice. We are called to answer each cry for help.
