Do you have a favorite coffee mug? Ok maybe you’re not a coffee drinker. How about a favorite tea mug? Water bottle? Well, I have a favorite coffee mug!
It’s just perfect! Not only because it has that big “W” on it, or even because of that cutesy, yet adult print. It feels custom-made for me! It fits nicely into my hands and is the perfect height. I can fix a large cup of coffee and it fills up just right. You know it doesn’t overflow but it teases the rim just a bit! When I am feeling special I may even twirl a little whip cream on top and even the whip cream sits just right!
Unfortunately, there is a small problem. I hardly ever get to use it! Instead of being filled and topped with whipped cream, it normally stays put, dry, and empty in my cupboard.
A to-go cup is the coffee cup I actually get to use. It’s not even a mug!
It’s cute but it just doesn’t do it for me. For starters, it’s too tall to even fit under the Keurig. So I normally make my coffee in a random kid cup and then o-so-carefully transfer it to this generic “to go” cup; losing about 3 tablespoons of fresh hot coffee each time. Even worse, it just doesn’t have that custom feel and homey aura.
Ok so you may be wondering what my big affection with mugs and coffee has to do with anything….well, absolutely nothing! It’s just that today I had a chance to use my preferred cup and something dawned on me. The experience made me think about how easy it’s become to settle for things that I really don’t prefer; chalking each decision up to “that’s just the way things are.” I normally rush out of the house in the mornings with book bags, lunch boxes, diaper bags, phone, keys, and yes, my pink to-go coffee cup all in tow. The simple truth is, I could easily get more use out of my favorite mug by waking up just 10 minutes earlier and drinking my coffee before I leave the house. OR the least I could do is purchase a new to-go cup that fits under my Keurig!
Something as simple as a coffee mug, has me wondering what other things in my life are staying put, empty, and unused because I have decided it’s just easier to settle for something common, something easy, something………
What are you settling for? What is sitting on your shelf? What minor adjustments could you make to get better use of these gifts, passions, desires, tools, disciplines, etc.
Even more than that aren’t you glad that God doesn’t mind going in cupboards and pulling out His unused favorites?
