Bitterness and Renewal

This morning, my darling 9 year old son brought me coffee to my beside, turned on my lamp, gave me his freckle-faced crooked smile, and told me "Good morning, mama!"

I took a sip after he'd left the room.
WHOA BUDDY.
That coffee was S-T-R-O-N-G.
Not in a "time to get up and get moving" strong sense.
In a "I'm Gaston in the pub scene of Beauty and the Beast and I have new hair on my chest now" strong sense.

Wow. It was bitter.

But he was SO sweet to bring it to me, to wake me up with such thoughtfulness.
I want to be raising a son who loves on his mama like this; who will one day turn into a man who loves his wife with such thoughtful deeds and words.

That made this morning's cup of bitterly strong into something super sweet for me.

I laid in bed a few minutes longer, reading my devotional for the day.
The taste of that sip still lingered sharp on my tongue.
I read words that challenged me to check the bitterness that underlays my heart.
I felt the sting of it in my mouth, and in my soul.
Bitterness?
Could I allow Him to take that lingering stringent emotion, renew it into something softer, sweeter, and wholly transformed?
Can I trust Him enough to let go of the protective buffer that bitterness serves me?
Can I invite Him to show me where motives should be reassessed?
Is renewal of my heart's perspective possible, just as my appreciation for what my son meant to do changed my idea of the coffee?
Bitterness... renewal....Truth.
Transformation.

He will.
Will I allow it?

**** And yes, I did get up, pour some almond milk into that bitter cup, and drink it anyway! Coffee made with love IS good coffee!****