As I was drinking my "apple juice blended into ice with whip cream," (how the lady taking my order described it) I started to see how much Starbucks resembles dating. We girls have our list of requirements we are looking for in a man. (I don't know if guys do this as well, I've never asked). Starbucks is our world, Jesus is the person at the cash register and God makes the drinks. You must know Jesus to know God. The cashier must know the actual coffee maker in order for there to be communication to get your order created. The order is up to the coffee make what is needed. It may come to the counter exactly as you asked, or it may show up as something you weren't exactly expecting. Jesus and God communicate in the highest degree possible. You may have ordered a certain drink from Jesus, but when Jesus told God and God looked at you, he could agree that we are all on the same page or he could look at the order and notice its not the best choice. Thus ultimately giving you, not what you asked for, but exactly what you needed.
For grins and chuckles, lets place my Starbucks to Jesus and see what God creates.
Ordering my Jesus Freak. There are some requirements I had to have when I talked to God about my future husband. Things he and I have already agreed on. The first specific is being ordered because I know this is best for me, my future husband and my future family. In coffee terms, it's like ordering milk if you are lactose intolerant...it just doesn't make sense. You are going to order soy because you know milk is not good for you...or for those around you. So my first item on the list has always been that my husband must be a Christian. A man that loves God more than he could ever love me. A man that would lead and guide me and our future children close to Christ through our lives. When I stumble and fall, I'm going to look up. When I look up, I'm going to see a man ready to lift me closer to our Father. That is a requirement and standard to my Starbucks order. Actually, that's the foundation. It is the cup of my order. Every coffee drink needs something to be held in. Something that will not faultier, give out or bust. Christianity is my Starbucks Cup of my order placed to Jesus.
Cups are also important. They can hold a hot drink or a cold drink. They can be plastic or paperish. Lets not go into "Oh my man has to be hot" or they have to be "tall, dark and handsome." If that is all you see, you are missing the point. Lets look at the cups themselves as emotions. Some girls need a man who is solid in their emotions. They need someone strong, incredibly manly and would rather go shoot some deer while drinking beer. They may run or hike or bike or fish. The point is, they are very stable minded in the emotions they show. They aren't sensitive. These would be the paper cups. You can't see through them to see how they feel, unless you are their wife. Plastic cups, on the other hand, are just as strong and manly, but they are more comfortable with sharing that sensitive side to the world. They allow everyone to glimpse into what they are holding. I need a guy more like this. A plastic cup. I am more reserved with my emotions. I would be considered a paper cup. Since this is the case, I would order a plastic cup drink because I believe that being around someone who shows emotions is beneficial to myself and others around our future relationship.
So the basics are done. Plastic Cup drink. Christian who is open to who they are. Now for the challenge, the drink. The problem with this, in America, is that we girls have such a skewed perception of what a guy should be. Thank you Twilight and Justin Bieber. So when coming up with my FIRST "Top Ten" list (this was a popular Christian thing to do several years ago) when I was 14, it has stayed relatively the same, minus marrying Nick Jonas. Anyways, when I was coming up with this list, I realized that all the other lists around me were very specific. They wanted a guy that was 6'2", British, brown hair with green eyes that wrote songs for a living. I'm sorry, that is way too specific. Those are the people in line at Starbucks that I roll my eyes at. "Can I have a carmel, mocha, upside down, hot, two shots, soy, no whip, decaf with a dash of complicated." Seriously, you are obviously coming to this counter WAY too often. Take a breath. You only have to place your Mr. Jesus Freak order once. Let Jesus and God handle it from there. They will give him to you when they have prepared him for you.
Anyways, so everyone around me was becoming highly specific with their order. It was an impossible task to fill. Why does eye and hair color matter anyways? We are not flipping through a catalogue. I don't walk up to Starbucks, not liking coffee, and see a person get an order and say, "Oh, that looks good. I'll have that." There is a high chance of failure because I know the one thing I don't like, most people in this world likes to drink. I don't want your order. I don't want a specific order. I want the order that is perfect for me.
The contents inside the cup. When I placed my order, years ago, I generalized with the specifics. All of the things I chose are traits that I have always desired in my partner. These range from ones that he and I could share and others that he would be better at than I would be. This is because I could be confident that he could always lead me, but we would both have a common ground to stand on. Don't get me wrong, it took me years to accept that the Bible does in fact state that the man is the head of the household. I fought that for so long. "Well, my man may be the head of the household, but I make the real decisions." Go for it. A few years ago, I was the same way. However, as I spent more time looking at the options of drinks available, I started to notice that if I don't ask for someone who can stand as the head of my household than I can just live alone. There is no need to get a coffee if I can function through the day without it. Its not something I am going to spend energy and time devoting my life to if it is not what I need at that time.
Here are the contents that I asked to be placed in my Starbucks order. We already have the cup. Content wise, I want a man that loves his family. This is like the sugar to my drink. It is a necessity. I have an incredible family so having a man in my life, I hold him to the same standards. I want our family to be close, not only as a singular unit but also with his side of the family as well as mine. The next one is the ice to the frap...or a man who follows his dreams. 'Dream' is one of the most important words that I have ever had in my vocabulary. I've always been incredibly focused on living out my dreams and would love to have a husband who drives this idea into his kids as well. I want to show them that anyone can live their dreams with enough support, effort and determination. Passionate. I added this to my drink specifically because passion means desire and purpose. They strive towards goals. They have a reason to live and breath. Passion is incredibly attractive in any drink.
He challenges me to be a better person. I am ok with making someone a better person, but having someone to correct my behavior is also incredibly important. I need someone with the same morals but different ideas (to a degree) so that I am always challenged to see things in a new way. Otherwise, I will be incredibly close minded and become shut off to any sense of new views. To go along with this, I added someone who makes me laugh. I'm not talking about laughing for a few seconds though. I'm talking about someone who can make me laugh so hard that I am doubled over and start to cry. This is the true essence of a best friend for me. I love to smile and laugh. To have someone that can make me hit that emotion in even the most serious of moments is truly an incredible person. The last four we will speed through because they are self explanatory but incredibly important to the order; confidence, loyalty, hard working and easy to talk to.
Of course every order comes with a ridiculous request of extra specialties. Since I was a little girl, I've always wanted a musician who could sing. That would be the whip cream and chocolate sauce on the top of my drink.
There is my grande order of Starbucks coffee. Looking at dating this way is unusual, for sure, but it made sense to me. We order things everyday, why not place an order with our Holy Trinity? When I walked up to talk to Jesus about my future man, I knew there were things that were not debatable. I was getting this order in a cup. Not a bowl. Not a plate. He was going to be a Christian. From there, I started my top ten list. I explained every choice to Jesus as he took down my orders. Each one, he typed in, smiled, said thank you and to patiently wait until my order was available to have. As I walked away, the order was given to God. God and Jesus were able to look at my order, my intentions, heart and have been deciding ever sense what who my coffee was going to end up being. I have no control over the order now. It is being decided, created, nurtured and prepared exactly how God is intending it to be. I may not end up with the guy I expected or the drink I ordered. However, I will certainly end up with the guy I needed. A guy that will create the second half of the couple God intended, needed and desired to work his wills out during our time on earth. The only challenge for any coffee orderer now is being patient while waiting for the coffee to make it from God to you.
What is your Starbucks order?
-Miss Jesus Freak
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