Mama, What’s Your “Coffee”?

Me and my BFF, coffee.

Growing up, there was something magical about smelling my dad’s coffee brewing. That blacker-than-midnight Folger’s will forever be etched in my heart, reminding me of the father who worked tirelessly to provide for his family. He’d laugh when we asked for a sip, telling us we had to be “up by his armpit” before he’d let us drink that black elixir.

Fast forward to when that little girl became a mama of two, and that magical elixir became a lifeline. I loved my babies fiercely, but I was drowning in this thing we call motherhood. Postpartum depression had stolen the joy right out from under me, and some mornings that hot cup of joe was the only thing I had to look forward to.

It didn’t take long before coffee became part of my identity, my sanity, my anthem. And even when I slowly climbed out of the darkness of postpartum depression, that dependence clung to me like a cloak. But hey, everyone else was the same way, right? So what’s the big deal?!

Years rolled on, and we welcomed another sweet blessing into our family. Life got louder, messier, and more beautiful… and somewhere in the chaos, my bloodstream turned into a steady drip of caffeine. Honestly, I was basically 80% coffee (just joking… kinda 🫣😂). Until one day, conviction hit me like a ton of bricks.

Friend, I had an unholy attachment to my daily cup.

An unholy attachment is anything we cling to for comfort, identity, or strength more than we cling to Jesus. It can be something good, but when it takes His place in our hearts, it becomes an idol in disguise.

I had an unholy attachment.

It wasn’t just a drink, it had become my mantra: Mama needs her coffee to function.

It had become my identity: This mom runs on coffee and chaos.

It had become my idol: If I don’t have my coffee, I can’t function.

And so, for almost three years, I was convicted to give it up. Not a drop. It wasn’t always easy to resist, but as time went on, I began to see what God was doing.

I had woven coffee into the very fabric of my motherhood. Instead of leaning more into Jesus- the One who promises to never leave me or forsake me- I leaned into coffee, the one who promised everything but gave me nothing lasting.

That’s the thing about idols: they disguise themselves as helpers… until you realize they’ve been holding you hostage.

Today, I enjoy my daily cup of coffee (and am perfecting the perfect homemade, hormone-healthy creamer!), but it’s no longer my lifeline. My lifeline is Jesus. My “mama fuel” is His presence. And my identity? Loved daughter of the King.

Mama, I’m not sharing this because I think coffee is bad. I’m sharing it because I know how easily our hearts can hand over the steering wheel to something other than Jesus. I had to learn the hard way that what we run to first reveals who (or what) we trust most.

What we run to first reveals who we trust most.

So here’s my gentle nudge: take some time this week to get still before Him. Ask,

“Lord, is there anything I’ve been leaning on more than You? Anything I’ve let define me, comfort me, or fuel me in Your place?”

And then be brave enough to hear His answer, and humble enough to obey.

Because when you let Him take His rightful place again, you’ll find that everything else- even that steaming cup of coffee- becomes an overflow instead of a lifeline.