The Coffee Mug

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. One of the last Christmas presents I received from my Mammaw before she died was a coffee mug. I should back up a bit to say that even as a teenager and young adult — at whatever point in my life I started realizing a bit about how far money goes — I marveled at Mammaw’s gift giving. A lady with nine living children, many of whom have spouses, more than a dozen grandchildren, many of whom also have spouses, and even great-grandchildren never skipped anyone over for Christmas, despite subsisting on a paltry Social Security check. I can remember Christmases in which I received socks that had clearly been part of a larger package that she divided to give to multiple people. It was quite common that she would recycle the cardboard boxes that her cereal came in so she would have boxes for all the gifts. To this day, I am astounded at her ability to express her love through giving on the most limited of budgets. So, it makes sense at my surprise one year receiving a lovely coffee mug with some sort of flavored coffee. On the mug is inscribed the statement, a paraphrase of today’s verse: “God’s promises are new every morning.” For a few years, I used that mug every Sunday morning as I got ready for church, and I thought of Mammaw every time I did. As I said, it turned out to be one of the last gifts I received from her. You can imagine my heartbreak, then, when the mug tipped over and the handle broke. We glued it, and it still worked, but it tipped again, breaking in new spots. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue drinking from it, as it’s just too fragile. So now, it just rests on the counter, braced by a wall behind it. I simply couldn’t bear to part from it, as it is such an important keepsake of mine. It makes me think of a woman who loved richly despite her poverty. It reminds me of whence I come. It reminds me of being loved.It also reminds me of exactly what it says: every morning is a new day. Every day is a new opportunity. Each sunrise presents us with a new slate of blessings from God. Moreover, the mug reminds me of what it is: broken, but still doing good. When I look at that mug, I know that even though I have scars, even though I feel broken at times, God can still work through me. Even though Mammaw had little to give, God worked through her to make her family feel loved. Regardless of our flaws or imperfections, regardless of the brokenness and scars we bear, God both loves us and uses us to love others. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end. Great, indeed is God’s faithfulness. Let us pray.God, we thank you for your love and we thank you for putting people in our lives who demonstrate that love to us. We know that, regardless of our circumstances, you can use us to help others. Keep us open to your call on our lives so that others will think of us and know you. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.