Young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three
pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots,
in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed
ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the
Carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She
then asked her to take an egg and break it. After
pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled
egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The
daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked. “What’s the point, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had
faced the same adversity–boiling water–but each
reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When
adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and
adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my
strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but
changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit,
but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or
some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does
my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter
and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually
changes the hot water, the very circumstance that
brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst, you get better and change the situation
around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their
greatest do you elevate to another level? How do you
handle Adversity?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
Don’t tell GOD how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your GOD is!”
