A 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 some problem solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed CARROT, in the second she placed EGGS, and in 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 place them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see"
"CARROT, EGG and COFFEE", she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to fee the carrots. She did and noticed that they are soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.
The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter the asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity… boiling water and each reacted differently.
The CARROT went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softens and became weak. The EGG had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting thought the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The 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 wild and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart but the changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trials 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 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 the things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, egg or coffee bean?
Count you blessing, no your problem…. Putting others first makes relationship last.
