A young woman went to her mother & told her about her life & how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it & wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting & 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 & the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit & boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out & placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out & placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out & placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, & coffee,” she replied. She brought her closer & asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take an egg & 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 & unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened & 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. 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?”

Some individuals are like carrot that seems strong, but with pain & adversity wilted and became soft & lost strength. Some like eggs starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat. It has a fluid spirit, but after under trials become hardened & stiff, the shell look the same, but the inside becomes bitter & tough with a stiff spirit & a hardened heart.

Some people are like a coffee bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings trials and challenges. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance & flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the circumstances around you.

When the hour is the darkest & trials are the greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

My advice to you, “Don’t tell GOD how big the storm is, tell the storm how big our GOD is!”