The Good of a $5 Coffee

This is me. All by myself. For two whole hours.

It may not seem like a big deal to you. But without these two hours, I may not survive over here. And I’m not even kidding.

My days are pretty simple. I’m a typical stay-at-home mom in the mornings and evenings, and in the afternoons, while the kids take their naps, I have language class. I can go through my day without one solitary moment. I’m either with my kids or my husband or my language tutor at all hours of the day.

Except for Thursdays. On Thursdays, I have language class in the morning, which leaves my afternoon free. And on this day, my husband stays home with the kids. And I have two hours, all to myself.

And I pretty much do the exact same thing, every week.

There is a recently-opened coffee shop downtown in our city. And on Thursday afternoons, this is where I go. On rainy days or in colder weather, I take a taxi there, which usually involves me standing on the side of the road for 10-15 minutes, waiting for a taxi driver to be generous and pick me up. In warmer weather, though, I’ll walk. There is a canal which runs through the middle of our city, and I can walk alongside it from our home to the coffee shop. It takes me about 30 minutes to go by foot, but I find that I prefer this way of getting there. I get to enjoy the outdoors without watching kids or asking people not to take their picture or touch their faces for the umpteenth time. And I can quiet my mind and think by myself and pray without interruption, all while getting some exercise and enjoying the breeze and reminding myself how much I like our city.

The coffee shop itself has only been open for about six months. It was a surprise (albeit a happy one) because people here don’t tend to drink coffee. It’s green tea that people love. And beer. And wine. And whiskey. Well, you get the idea. So when this little shop opened, we were thrilled. The coffee (as well as everything else) is pretty expensive. One 6-ounce cup of coffee costs $5. And the shop doesn’t open until 1pm, though believe me, we’ve begged the owner to open the shop earlier when people like us most desperately need the caffeine. But considering the fact that we’d probably be his only morning customers, the shop owner has not relented to our pleas.

Over the months, our family has become friends with the owner and workers. We’ll often go there one evening a week for ice cream (yes…they also have ice cream). When I walk into the shop on Thursday afternoons, they pull out a chair for me and begin making my $5 mocha…because I order the same thing, every time. I talk with them until they bring me my coffee or they greet other customers. And I then I get comfortable at my table, put in my earphones, open my Bible, and read.

For many of you, there are Bible studies or Sunday morning worship times or scattered times of fellowship with other believers throughout the week. I don’t have that here. So these Thursday afternoons are times for me to study the Word and be taught and encouraged and strengthened. During these times, I’m able to study a book of the Bible more in depth, with a greater ease and focus than my early-morning study and prayer times allow. Some weeks, I’ll also read through a book, either a devotional or theology book. And some weeks, I’ll listen to a Bible-study series online taught provided by our home church. Sometimes I journal, sometimes I’ll read John Piper sermons, sometimes I’ll just sit and listen to the music of Andrew Peterson, which somehow always gives words to the cries of my heart. But in the end, I leave the coffee shop refreshed and renewed. There are days when I leave in tears, because the Lord has met me there and broken me and restored me, all in the span of two hours.

My husband is pretty adamant about me taking this one afternoon a week…away from the house, the little ones, and the chores that are never done. Sometimes I wonder if I should go, feeling bad that I’m leaving him with crying kids or a messy kitchen. But then he reminds me that my going out for two hours actually increases his joy. It makes me a better wife and mom, he says. And he’s right. Getting away, even for two hours, and allowing the Lord to clear my mind and quiet my heart is exactly what I need to persevere. I come home on those Thursday afternoons more content, more resolved, more at peace, more thankful.

Sometimes all we have are two hours. But the Lord uses those hours to revive our hearts and strengthen us for the road ahead. So here’s to $5 coffees and walks outside and a husband who rejoices in the good of his wife. By God’s help, I am surviving, persevering, and thriving. 

And that's worth celebrating. Perhaps with a second cup of coffee.