TELL THE
STORM
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 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,
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.
The daughter did and noted that
they were 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!
(Author Unknown)
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