Once upon a time there was a woman who ran a coffee shop. This coffee shop was a holy place. Above the door there was a sign that said: God Is Love. Many people -- from all over the world who found themselves in this small town that sat on a famous highway -- would drop by to drink her coffee. Now, they really had no choice seeing that it was the ONLY coffee shop around but that didn’t deter them from saying: This coffee is so great. The coffee was great because the woman’s focus was to make great coffee and to spread the love of God (which was like an extra shot of your favorite flavoring). But in the mix of making coffee and spreading love to others, she would often not partake of either for herself.One day, a lady walked into the coffee shop. She had lived in the small town for almost two years and, not being much of a coffee drinker, had never thought to visit. For some reason, that one day she did. She found the coffee shop empty except for the woman who looked up from the counter and greeted her with a smile. But it was a sad smile. She had been crying a little. Oddly, sometimes this lady would be somewhere; a bus stop, a grocery store or just anywhere, and people would tell her things. Personal things. Important things. And this day was no different. The woman that made coffee said she was very lonely. Twelve years of long loneliness after leaving a heartbreaking marriage. This day she felt most lonely of all because no one had come in for coffee. So, the lady that didn’t drink coffee ordered a mocha. Surprisingly, she found that is was so great. And she began to visit. Often. And the lady and the woman became very good friends in a very short time. However, the woman would continue to talk of her loneliness. Then one day the lady who had quickly become addicted to mocha lattes with an extra shots of mocha had an idea. She wondered if it would be possible not to talk about the loneliness because, like the coffee, the woman was good at focusing on it. It was great in the woman’s life to the point of being the woman’s life. Instead, the lady thought it might be fun to pretend that the fellow the woman wanted in her life was already there. Because the woman loved the lady, she heard her and trusted her. The woman wanted to know what she should do and the lady said: I hear you praying with your words all the time. Maybe you should pray with your eyes. So, the woman began to visualize, little by little, this man. She would describe him to the lady. And the lady would laugh with so much joy because she could see him too as the woman had gotten very good at pretending. She pretended him so well that she wasn’t lonely for him. She wasn’t lonely at all. She was very happy.
Well, a day came when the lady had to move away to an even smaller town. Luckily, it had a coffee shop. The woman and the lady were happy about that and only a little sad about departing because their friendship was so strong that they knew they’d never really be apart. A few weeks later, while the lady was having coffee in her new coffee shop, she got a phone call from the woman. He‘s here, she said. He had walked into the coffee shop right under the sign that said: God Is Love. The woman told the lady, He is everything I imagined he’d be. The lady came and visited the coffee shop to see for herself. The lady thought he was clearly as great as any cup of coffee the woman had ever made. Soon there after, there was a wedding celebration…and, of course, a happy ending!