Coffee Talk

I love coffee.

I love conversation.

Put the two together, and I’m in heaven.

I love coffee talk. I define simply as this: getting together with a good friend, drinking coffee—sometimes tea, depending on the mood—and talking about everything in life. As my Granddaddy Hamlin, the great philosopher of DeKalb County, Alabama loved to call it, “shootin’ the bull.” (Though not blood-related, I think I culturally inherited this unique trait from him.)

I can be anywhere. Starbucks is a usual spot because they’re everywhere and easy to find. However, I also love The Red Eye and Hometown Coffee, both in Tallahassee. Some like Brueggars, but I’m not a real bagel fan and really don’t like their coffee. There used to be a great place near the Bay Bridge in Gulf Breeze, but it has since closed, so now it’s the Krispy Kreme or Bagelheads in Pensacola.

Anyway, it’s not the place or coffee per se (and I’ve had more than my share of some bad cups) but it’s the company and the conversation that almost always becomes more stimulating than the caffeine.

It’s a special treat when—after seven long years volunteering in youth ministry—former youth group kids request some coffee talk time. I can never fully describe how much I love these kids and want to keep up with their lives, even after they’ve gone off to college. They can easily forget me in the busy-ness of their lives and pursuit of new endeavors, so it makes me feel special they actually WANT to see me during the limited time they have visiting home from college.

There are many things we end up talking about, but three things usually stand out:

Old youth group memories

Life updates, which somehow always end up about our latest love interests.

The DREADED 10-Year Plan

The DREADED 10-Year Plan is one that’s important to me and I nearly always ask during the conversation, “What or where do you want to be in 10 years?”

Of all the kids, it is probably Michelle who is most frustrated with me when I ask. I should really stop using the word “kid” but can’t shake the thought of when I first knew her as a shy high school freshman many years ago. It is amazing to see how Michelle has grown up to be a brilliant, intelligent, and thoughtful young woman!

No doubt Michelle is one of my favorites of the many youth group alums, and that’s because she was one of the kids who joined the mission trips I led to Honduras. This small group holds a special place in my heart, and I pray often that the lessons they learned visiting the impoverished third world will continue to thrive within them and inspire action.

So, it was last week that Michelle and I were in deep coffee talk about life, when she started talking about some of the classes she’s been taking and how much the issues of social justice have appeared thematic in recent months. For her ten year plan, she revealed that she hoped to go teach and make a difference in some distant land.

What a great thing to hear! In the nearly 10 years I was involved in youth ministry, the one prayer I held in constant vigil was that I would become the instrument to empower youth to act on social justice and make a difference in the world. There were moments where I wondered if this would ever come true, or if I was making any difference in the lives of these kids.

I’m not taking all the credit, and I’m humbled to even take some of it.

My dad has told me many times an old Filipino proverb, “Plant, and you will harvest.”

God planted that seed long ago in Michelle and many of the other youth, and I was entrusted to nurture them.

Many years from now, we might not be around to enjoy the harvest, but certainly the world will be a much better place.