When a young woman started to complain to her mother about “life”, how
things were so hard that she didn’t know how she was going to make it and
how she 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 and
placed each on the stove. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first she
placed carrots, 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 out the
carrots and placed them in a bowl. She pulled out the eggs and placed them
in a bowl. Then she ladled out the coffee and placed it in a bowl. Turning
to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and
noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg
and break it. After pulling off the shell, she saw it was hard-boiled.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its richness and savored its aroma. The daughter then
asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity
– boiling water. Each reacted differently.
>>The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. Are you the
carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become
soft and lose your strength?
>>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. Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes
with the heat? Does a fluid spirit change after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial? Does your shell look the same, but
on the inside are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened
heart?
>>The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water. Are you like the coffee bean that
actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain,
as it releases the fragrance and flavor?
“So, which are you?” she finally asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks
on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee
bean?”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”