My mom loved coffee. I can remember watching her open a new can, smell it, and then eat a spoonful of the grounds. If she were alive today, she would love Starbucks. Coffee beans by themselves have an aroma, but the true flavor of the coffee only comes out when the beans are ground. Grinding the beans doesn’t produce the flavor; it releases what’s already inside the bean. We are very similar. Have you ever been in a situation where something happens and your response was less than loving? Just as surely as grinding coffee beans brings out what’s already inside of them, uncomfortable situations release what’s already inside of us. If we respond negatively, it’s because that attitude is already in our hearts. Others don’t cause bad responses, trying circumstances just release them. Maybe we’re just having an inner conflict over who we really are. If we solve the inner turmoil, the outer behavior will change. We alone control our responses, it’s no one else’s fault when we react wrongly. Maybe it’s time we took responsibility for our actions, owned them, and did something positive about it. May what happens in life release our inner joy, and may we express the aroma of God.