Bean Blessings

Bless us Oh Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.

You've probably said that - maybe a million times.  Yea, me too.  It's one of those prayers we learn as a child and can say in about a quarter of a second as we reach for our favorite dish.

And what's the first thing I reach for every day?
If you know me, you also know this! COFFEE!  I grind the beans, steam the milk and process the espresso.  I put it all together and with that first sip I've become accustomed to saying the words, "thank you for this delicious coffee, God". It takes only a second, but I really mean it!

Today, I thought about what that entails - saying thanks, I mean.  Genesis 1 tells us:

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that produce fruit with seed in it according to their various kinds."  And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good.

Coffee is one of those plants!  But it was just a plant until someone starting messing around with it. Did you ever wonder, "How did that first someone, somewhere (I've been told the birth place of coffee is Ethiopia) figure out how to take this plant and the fruit it produces and actually end up with a cup of coffee?"

So, three things come out of this thought process.

1. Someone figured out how to pick the cherry when it ripens and turns red, strip it of pulp, dry it without allowing it to become moldy, crush it, add the crushed mixture to hot water and then drink it.  Amazing.  
2. Then, they did it again! This, even after what I assume, must have been a disgustingly putrid taste experience.  Just imagine drinking a thick hot mixture (I suppose it could have been cold - yuk) of saw-dust, cardboard, burnt wood chips, maybe some sand and the crunchy residue of crushed beans.  A second cup? Can you say "death wish"?
3. Of course, in the spirit of community, these percolating pilgrims  shared this "recipe" with others.  And THEY drank it too!

Permission request pending

OK.  I think I need to be more specific when I give thanks for the "daily bread" that we've been given. First, there is the creation part of gratitude and then there's the whole step-by-step progression that brings this gift into our kitchens.

The growers, The inventors, The processors, The shippers, The retailers. The equipment; (The Espresso machine to The French Press to The Bialetti or even the Mr. Coffee.) It's a litany in true form.

Suddenly, I am fully aware that a quarter of a second isn't nearly enough time to bow our heads in thanksgiving.