Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Adversity Will change You In 1 of these 3 Ways

A young woman went to her grandmother 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 that as one
problem was solved, a new one arose.


Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. 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 then 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 granddaughter, 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 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 granddaughter then asked, "What does it mean, Grandmother?"

Her grandmother 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 granddaughter. "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 of your life. 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 changed by your surroundings or do you
bring life, flavor, to them?


ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

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