Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee Lessons

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest – Joshua 1:9

I’ve always heard it isn’t the trial, but our response to the trial that matters most. Admittedly, there are days we handle adversity better than others. It is important to turn to God in times of difficulty – for He is the only answer to life’s troubled situations. Maybe you’ve been cynical lately? You’re tired of seeing the wicked prosper and the “good” person continue as the underdog in life? We may get weary, but the Bible instructs us not to be weary in well doing! (Galatians 6:9) Onward Christian soldiers!  Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the “Carrot, Eggs, and Coffee,” before. There is something significant for the Christian to glean in the following illustration...

The author said, "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 and placed each on a high fire.

Soon the pots came to 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

in silence.

A short time later, the mom turned off the stove. She fished the

carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them aside

in another bowl. Then, she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a 3rd 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 observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich 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.

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?"

 Life Moment: Let us ask ourselves, which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but

 with hurt and adversity, I wilt. I 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 flowing spirit, but after a spiritual valley, a breakup, a financial crisis or some other trial, have I became stiff and rigid? 

Is it “my way or the highway?” You might as well be honest with yourself – God KNOWS all of you.

Does your shell look the same, but on the inside you may harbor secret bitterness?

Others may THINK you’re compassionate but you have a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the 

actual 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 most terrible, you get better and change the situation around you.

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

Look UP my friends!