Coffee at the Hardware Store, part 2

I just finished another “project” with my friend, Bruno. The project was to help him finish redoing their kitchen by tiling the walls. They had already redone the counters and cabinets. I was working on tiling the backsplash area. Since it wasn’t a real large kitchen I could put on the tiles the first day and do the joints and trim the second day. We chose a holiday weekend so he was free to help Friday and Saturday.
Same routine as before: going out the door of the hardware store he asked me if I wanted a coffee. I politely declined this time since I just arrived from home and finishing breakfast, saying I preferred getting started and then taking a break in an hour. Sure enough, when the hour finished he was starting up the coffee maker! Gotta love working without pressure! We visited and talked over coffee, then continued while working. Covered the usual guy stuff- cars, family, children, wives, then moved on the church while meandering around rock and roll and music before ending up discussing politics. Actually, quite a bit of talk for guys! Our days included an hour lunch break (which we managed to stretch into an hour and a half!) and, of course, an afternoon coffee break.
We have a friend who used to say, “Life is too short to eat burnt English muffins!” That is one way of looking at life the way the French do. Painting and tiling are not more important than coffee and sharing friendship. It’s not either-or, it’s both-and. I realize these past few weeks I have missed the usual comings and goings of folks around our home. Since the church stopped meeting last month, we don’t have the regular times of meeting people that were a normal part of our schedule. I find I miss that. I’m more aware than ever that we are here just for those encounters, those moments of touching another life, of listening to a sad heart or offering an encouraging word. We are, after all, relational creatures, created in the image of Him who is relationship.
Glad I love good coffee!