Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Shattered Mug: An Observation

Yep.

I did it.

In a hurry to get to school last Wednesday morning, I knocked my favorite coffee cup off the counter. My beautiful, unique (tall white ceramic with black artwork and lettering) "The Black Drop" coffee mug lay shattered on the floor at my feet. At first I thought I could put it back together again. Unfortunately, like Humpty-Dumpty, not even all the King's horses and all the King's men, could put my coffee cup together again. So, into the garbage, painfully, it went.

Now don't misunderstand me. I have other coffee cups; three or four more. But each one has special meaning to me. My Sunday morning cup was given to me by my editor at InterVarsity Press one Christmas. I bought my Jonathan Edwards Center coffee cup at the Yale University Press booth during the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Washington, DC in 2006. "The Blackdrop Cup," however, stood for much more. It was my favorite cup. It reminded me of my favorite coffee shop (The Black Drop), my favorite coffee & roasting master (Alexarc Mastema - that's Alex in the picture to the right - Does he look like a coffee artist or what?!) and it held many great memories for me. You could say I was invested in it.


That I know of, there is only one other like it in the state of Texas!

The point is, our lives are filled with items that we charge with symbolism. Those items remind us of people, places and things that are special to us. In the process, we begin to cherish those items for what they do for us - they remind us of who we are and what we love. They remind us of those important moments in life that shape us and continue to shape us in this world. "The Black Drop" cup was one of things for me.

Yet as sad as I was to lose the cup, I also believe that it can be replaced. So though I have lost the original, there is a new one that Alex can send to me from Bellingham...and I still have all the memories. Stuff comes and goes in our lives, but its the memories that shape us forever.

Thanks Alex!

Stay tuned for next week's blog entry and another approach! In the meantime, a happy Palm Sunday to all!

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