Life, French Press Style
I recently went to grinding whole coffee beans to make my coffee using a French press. My French press is glass and cylindrical.
Using it to make coffee is not the same as using a drip coffee maker.
You begin by putting very warm water into the French press. The warm water sits for a few minutes. Then you can dump it, add your fresh ground beans, and add water that is just off the boil (a term for just a few degrees shy of steaming, bubbling, scalding). It sits for a few; you pump the handle and in a few moments you receive steaming pure morning magic.
Why is this preparation so important? The warm water tempers the glass so that when water just off the boil is added the glass doesn’t break from the sudden temperature change.
The French press is an analogy for life. We are all just glass cylinders. Our cylinder is the sum of all our experiences and beliefs — good, bad, middle of the road. The water is an unexpected, catastrophic, life-changing event. What happens next depends on our preparation.
Those who are unprepared break, shattering into a fractured mess. It could be that there’s no or limited savings for a medical expense or job loss. It could be that dysfunctional differences were never settled, and the funeral’s on Monday. It could be that in all the preparations for pregnancy, a C-section was never considered or the ultrasound shows a defect. It could be that the hope for a fun future of grandbabies is dismantled by cancer, genetic disorder, or mental health diagnosis.
But how do we temper our cylinders? How do you expect the unexpected?
Really, you can’t. What you can do is to first learn to live wisely. Watch the patterns of life of those who survive and thrive; listen to what they say and how they say it. Learn to do reasonable planning; be frugal, trying to live within your means.
For the Christian, you can remember that God is in control. His mercies are new every morning, and He carries us from strength into strength. He binds the wounds of the broken-hearted, and He lifts up the humble while wasting the proud. He writes and perfects our faith as He turns us into His masterpiece. He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills and provides for all our needs (needs, not wants) according to His riches in glory.
Soli Deo Gloria, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura!
