I confess to loving Starbucks. I love their coffee, especially the Pumpkin Spice Latte. I love the atmosphere. I love the random people I meet and the conversations that result from those meetings. Now I don’t love their prices (in fact, I think it’s a robbery) and yet I put up with even that for the sake of the aforementioned benefits.
People watching is one of my biggest joys at a coffee shop. They tend to be busy places and I find myself intrigued by the people I see and the conversations I hear. So many people busily going about their lives without hardly a glance at those around them. And inevitably it gets me thinking.
We live such isolated lives – caught up in our own activities, our own thoughts, our own problems. Look up! Look around you! There are needy, hurting people all around. Take a moment to pray for someone around you. When we focus on others, we will find our own burdens are lightened and we see the world in a while new way. We weren’t meant to live in the isolation we put upon ourselves. We were designed for community, for fellowship with our Creator and with each other. I wonder how much damage our souls sustain when we allow ourselves to live day after day alone in a crowd – when we don’t open ourselves up to others. How long before we aren’t even sure how to reach out to others? How long before we become calloused to our need & the needs of those around us?
Look up! Look around! There are hurting people all around you. Don’t get so caught up in yourself, your problems, your pain, that you neglect others. Pray that God would soften your heart to the needs of others.
Who knew such thoughts could come while drinking coffee and watching people in a coffee shop?
Pumpkin spice latte….ugh! The pumpkin and spice part sounds ok..but there is still coffee in it!!!
I can proudly say that I have never been to a Starbucks and have never eaten or drank anything from Starbucks. I don't like coffee though.