With apologies to P.D. Eastman, our next section of our Caffeine series, looks at Discipleship and tells a tale of a young woman with somewhat limited resources. She had grown to reasonably comfortable point in her life. Yet, there was a vague void in her life. She just knew that there was some experience, some meaning, some thing, some one missing.

She had discussed it with friends and family. This  emptiness seemed uniquely hers, yet the distinct elements of it were beyond explanation. It was an irksome yet wonderful gift yet to be unwrapped.

But, she was a young woman restricted by her somewhat limited resources. She could not afford counseling, dream therapy, or whatever was the trendy prescription of the moment. The time involved would take her away from her commitments to her workplace and family. The expenses would deplete her vacation fund. She did not want to risk her tenuous relationships or reputation with her roommates as well as her friends at the weekly “theology at tap” group.

Self-help seminars or books held similar complications. She was pondering the challenge of seeking answers without expenditure as she traversed the wide aisled fresh breads and pastries section at the mega-grocery complex in her suburb.

Off in the distance of the super-sized supermarket was her solution―the magazine rack! During her shopping excursions, she would scour the latest and greatest publications searching headlines and opening paragraphs for life direction before replacing the unpurchased document onto the rack and completing her shopping. Surely, she will find her “other” here!

Her first choice was Oprah- a magazine by a successful woman was certainly appealing to a woman of somewhat limited resources. It told of “Discovering Happiness,”  “Organizing Your Life,” and “Dr. Phil’s Secret Steps to Simplicity.” She wondered to herself, “Is this my other?” She continued her shopping, then murmured to the bag boy loading her purchases into her car, “I am going to be a self-empowered successful woman.”

She discovered, however, that the structure of organization frustrated her and that simplicity in today’s society is a complicated endeavor.  “This is not my other,” she thought.

Her next choice was Cosmopolitan. The airbrushed cover-girl with considerable cleavage just seemed to breathe a sensual confidence. It told of “Being on Top Emotionally,” offered a Cosmo quiz “Will you rock someone’s world?,” and suggested methods for “Freeing Your Passion.” She wondered to herself, “Is this my other?” She continued her shopping, then in a sultry whisper to the bag boy loading her purchases into her car, she promised “I am going to rock someone’s world.” She discovered, however, that relationships are a challenge, especially as she attempted to maintain her own independence while strategizing the dependence of another.  She discover that he was not “her other”.  A world was rocked. It was not hers.

Her next choice was the National Enqirer. It featured tales of scandal, celebrity embarrassments, and alternative realities and alien beings and Elvis. She wondered to herself, “Is this my other?” She continued her shopping, then in a sneer to the bag boy loading her purchases in her car, she pledged, “I am better than these people.” She discovered, however, that her own mistakes, her own internal embarrassments, and her own shattered realities just increased her own desire for “the other” outside of herself.

Her next effort involved the magazine Food and Wine. The search remained unsuccessful. It was quickly followed by Shape. Still unsuccessful. Neither eating and drinking or dieting and ab crunching brought her any closer to her other. It only resulted in mornings of bloated hangovers or hungry dizzy muscle aches.

Much later, the bag boy, missing the series of declarative epiphanies from his most interesting customer, asked one day, “So, how’s it going?” A rather tense response came back, “It’s not, I feel lost. . . the magazines have all lied, and my hope to find ‘my other’ seems rather dim.”

As he placed the last bag into the car, he made a brief notation on the paper bag and said a silent prayer for his interesting customer, the young woman of limited resources. As she unpacked her groceries, she saw the note. It read, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” That night, she restlessly pondered the meaning of those words.