Okay, so I received this email and it really got me thinking. I think the message in it is great. I don't often re-send forwards, but this message just hit home for some reason and I just wanted to share. I don't drink Coffee, and even if you don't either I still think you can get the basic idea of what the moral of this story is. Enjoy... :)
"..... Carrots, Eggs & Coffee
> A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee....
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; 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 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 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 hardboiled 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?"
...So, 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 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. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!! ......."
So... after reading this email, it got me thinking... What am I? In trials that come my way, am I like the carrot where I am strong but then become weak? Am I like the Egg where I am soft hearted and free spirited, but then in trial do I become hard hearted and bitter? Or am I like a Coffee Bean, where I change for the better and change the circumstances? ... I think we all can say that in certain trials we have probably been 1 of the 3 at different times.
If I were to choose between the two "not-so-great" one's, I would have to say I have had egg-like moments. I feel that between the 3 choices, I either am an egg or a coffee bean. Unfortunately it is true that through some of the trials I have been through it has/had hardened me a little bit... but that was the way I coped and handled the situation I was going through. I didn't want to fall apart and be weak, so I chose to harden and be tough. It is weird though because at the same time I didn't want to be too tough and unreachable, so I guess that is where the "coffee bean" in me comes through.
As each day passes though, the hardening melts away, and the changes glimmer through showing how the trials, though incredibly difficult beyond my words, have definitely made me better. So much better. I am glad the Coffee Bean in me came through in the end, because life is much too precious to be weak, and much too joyous (yes!) to be hard and bitter. Thank goodness for my belief's and the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, ... and the great people like my family and especially my husband (he is seriously my rock, and I heart him!!!), ... or I fear I could have been the egg forever. I am so grateful for the gospel and the understanding I have of this life, and that the trials we go through are not beyond our capabilities to handle them. Our grief is just a moment, and there is nothing we cannot handle when we have our Heavenly Father and our Saviour by our sides. I know this to be true.
So, my question to you is... Which are you? A Carrot, an Egg, or a Coffee Bean? None of us are perfect, and we all certainly have our weak moments... but my hope is that even if we start out as a carrot or an egg, that the end result will be the coffee bean. It is also my hope that everyone around me knows that I am more than willing to be a friend, a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen to if ever the need arises.
So, here's to being a Coffee Bean! (Or Cocoa Bean! ... Mmmm... Chocolate!) ;)
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