Hubby and I were in need of a little caffeine pick-me-up … so we popped into Starbucks for our favorite treat: a Carmel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino. (just the thing to have on a cold wintry day – Ha!)
Lo and behold … there, sitting on the floor by the counter, the Grounds for the Garden tub actually had a bag of used coffee grounds! I couldn’t help myself – I softly “Yay’ed!” (much to the amusement of the barista!)
It felt like a prized “Christmas gift” as I retrieved it from the tub and triumphantly carried it out of the store!
This past year of 2024 has been a difficult year! This past year of 2024 has been “crushing” in many ways!
Just like the coffee beans in the Grounds for the Garden bag went through the grinder and were crushed … so also, many of us feel like we have “gone through the grinder” of life.
Not only that … the crushed coffee grounds then went through the process of being brewed in hot water! So also, in much the say way, many of us feel like we’ve gone through our own process of “being brewed in hot water” this past year!
It brings to mind the words of the old hymn:
“Some through the water,
some through the flood,
some through the fire,
but all through the blood.
“Some through great sorrow
but God gives a song
in the night season
and all the day long.”
What this song is stating is that even though we go through torrents & floods … even though we go through being “crushed” & “ground” … even though we go through the “fire” and the process of “being brewed in hot water” … if we are a follower of Jesus Christ (who died and shed his blood to save and redeem us) then we are kept safe through it all!
“This is what the LORD says – he who created you, he who formed you: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, your Savior.’” – Isaiah 43:1-3
When the coffee was crushed and then went through the process of being brewed with hot water, what was the end result?
Something beautiful was the result! Something which was amazing and delicious!
So also, in the same way, when we go through “crushing” seasons in life … when we go through seasons where we feel “brewed in hot water” … we can’t see it, but something beautiful is being produced through it all! Just like the coffee being produced from the coffee grounds!
This right here is life!
Does God want bad things to happen to us? No!
No! Not at all!
But … God can use the bad “crushing” things which happen in our life; and He can use it to bring about something beautiful! God can use the “being brewed in hot water” to bring about something amazing!
It doesn’t seem possible. It doesn’t make sense.
But God can do the impossible! Because God is God! And God is amazing!
So, we stand here at the end of a very hard, “crushing,” difficult year of 2024 … holding our bag of “brewed” coffee grounds.
We trust, by faith, that God is using the “crushing” and the “being brewed in hot water” to produce something beautiful … even though we can’t see it and we can’t really feel it. (faith is believing even though we can’t see it!)
And we stand here, holding our bag of coffee grounds, getting ready to step into a new year of 2025.
It’s not over! There’s still so much more to the story! The coffee grounds have so much more still to offer!
The Grounds for the Garden will bring nutrients and life to the garden!
Everyone wants Grounds for the Garden! They are a hot commodity … because they are so beneficial and life-giving to the soil!
In the same way, as we stand here at the end of 2024 holding our bag of “crushed’ “brewed” grounds from this past year … there’s still so much more to our story! Our grounds have so much more still to offer!
Our life is useful and valuable! Our life can enrich others!
The things we have been through have changed us! They have taught us lessons we never knew before. They have developed wisdom in us! They have developed perseverance in us! They have developed resilience in us!
Because of the “crushing” we have gone through, we can now help others whom we never would have been able to help before. Because of the “being brewed in hot water” we now have “nutrients” which we can share with others as they navigate life.
Our “grounds” are life-giving!
Our “grounds” are valuable!
There is still so much more to our story! What will this new year of 2025 hold for us as we stand here holding our bag of “grounds” in our hand??
Let’s take a step across the threshold into the new year and see …
