Food for Thought

While we were at the cabin this weekend, I found a magazine with this very interesting article. Enjoy!

Food for Thought

You will probably never look at a cup of coffee the same way after you read this:

       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 when a new one arose.
      Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she places carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the third she placed 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 took the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and poured it in a cup. 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 had become soft.
       She then asked her to take and egg and break it. After removing the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
       Finally, she asked her daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she sniffed its rich aroma, and then she tasted that delicious drink. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, Mother?"
       Her mother explained that each of these had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. After being subjected to the boiling water, however, it softened and became weak.
       The egg had been fragile; its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting in the boiling water, its insides had become hard.
       The coffee beans, however, were unique; after they had been in the boiling water for a time, they 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 adversity do I become soft and lose my strength?
       Or am I the egg that starts out with a malleable heart, but changes with the the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after some 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 circumstances that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and the flavor of the bean. 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 the trials are their greatest, do you rise 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!
       May God bless you abundantly!
              
                           ~ Author Unknown

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