A certain daughter complained to her father about her life
and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know
how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She
was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as
one problem was solved another arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots
with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots
came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he
placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans.
He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what
he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this
strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the oven
and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed
them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the
bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her he asked. "Darling what do you see."

Smartly, she replied. "Carrots, eggs, and coffee."

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She
did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take
an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed
the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee.
Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.

Humbly, she asked. "What does it mean Father."
He explained. "Each of them faced the same adversity, 212
degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently."

"The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after
going through boiling water, it softened and became weak."

"The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid
center. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside
became hardened."

"The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in
the boiling water, it became stronger and richer."

"Which are you," he asked his daughter.

When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest
amount of pain, adversity, heat you wilt and become soft
with no strength?

Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart?
A fluid spirit. But after a death, a breakup, a divorce, a
layoff you became hardened and stiff. Your shell looks
the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff
spirit and heart, internally.

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get
its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees
Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes
better. When things are there worst, you get better. When
people talk the most, your praises increase. When the hour
is the darkest, trials are their greatest, your worship
elevates to another level.

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or
a coffee bean?

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken;
cast down, but not destroyed. (II Corinthians 4:8-9)