How Do You Handle Adversity?

How Do You Handle Adversity?
By: Author Unknown

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?