Coffee & Friends

Friendship

Coffee.

I’m from the Northwest, where an invitation to have a meet up over coffee implies a long relational catch-up in a cozy shop, perhaps with soft jazz in the background. It’s a real thing. And that coffee invite? Everyone knows what it means…friends, relationship building, and a good cup of beans.

The importance of a steamy cup of goodness cannot be underestimated in it’s role of building community. At least in the United States. (I’ve been in other countries where that value seems to be gone in a gulp!) The value of having something in your hand, the occasional sip and the time created to linger, savor, and open up your heart. Sometimes that only happens when you switch your environment, step away from what you thought was important, and just sit with a friend and commune over caffeine.

When I worked in public education, I served a lot of schools, met a lot of teachers and families and know the importance of a good system. But a system cannot create a personal relationship of trust, communication, and love. Without these things it’s just books and numbers and schedules. But education where people trust each other, communicate with each other and love each other is one that lasts a lifetime, maybe even eternity.