Do you remember the soda fountain shops of the bobby socks era? My old stomping ground of Chittenango, NY had two popular hangouts in the mid 1960’s. I frequented both Jim’s and Ken’s, both located on Main Street in the village. Cherry Coke sipped from a straw lifted my spirits while I listened to my favorite songs on the jukebox.
Root beer floats were another favorite, at home, or from a fountain. Today’s fast food drive-inns Sonic and A & W keep the fad alive. I have a personal memory, which I shared with my dad during a family crisis.
Doctors diagnosed Mom with lung cancer in 1999 and I went to Texas to help her and Dad. While she recovered in the hospital, I prepared meals and kept their small apartment in order. I asked him if he would like a root-beer float, and he beamed at the suggestion. We enjoyed the treat and briefly felt the lifting of our concerns for Mom. Upon her release from the hospital, he asked me to serve them again.
Root beer often rises quickly to the top of a glass and bubbles over, running down the side, and onto the kitchen counter. I have bent over and sipped from the straw before cleaning up the spill. God offers me a life, bubbling over! “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing, [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope (Romans 15:13 Amplified Bible).” Our overflow touches lives for Christ.
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