Do you remember the first time you tried coffee? I remember my grandfather having several cups of coffee throughout the day. His morning always started with a cup in his recliner.
As a child seeing him savor each cup made me more than curious. After my barrage of questions he had my grandmother pour me a cup…black. It was the worst thing I had ever tasted!
I remember thinking, “What’s wrong with adults?!? Do taste buds stop working when you reach a certain age? Why would anyone pay to drink this stuff?”
I thought about my first experience with coffee as I paid for mine and my daughter’s order.
Coffee, I came to learn, was an acquired taste. I didn’t appreciate it at first, but now it’s something I enjoy. Who knew?
What if certain relationships, like coffee, are an acquired taste? (I’m sure most of my friends would agree.)
Seriously, what if you are missing out on some great friendships because you can’t yet appreciate their unique qualities?
I think the reason some people are lonely is they’ve created an impossible standard in their mind that no one can live up to. When compared to that standard everyone else seems rather…bitter.
What if instead of writing people off you stuck with them a little longer? What if you chose to look past the imperfections and look for the good?
The good news is you already know how to do this. You do this with every person you love. You found a way to focus on their positives and ignore their short-comings. It’s the only way anyone stays married.
The longer you insist on perfection the longer you’ll sit and drink your coffee alone.
I bet you can already think of a few people who were an acquired taste and have enriched your life in countless ways.
Time and exposure are the two factors in acquired taste (source). They are the two things we rarely give to people whose first impression is a little bitter.
Maybe what you need is more time with them not less. After a few weekly cups of coffee that person who rubs you the wrong way might be a little less annoying. You may actually begin to appreciate the way God wired them up and start viewing them as a friend.
Who knows in a few years you may look back and not be able to imagine life without them in it…kind of like coffee.
