A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how hard things were going for her.  The young woman felt she just wanted to give up! She felt as soon as she solved one problem, another problem would arise. Her mother listened and took her to the kitchen. Her mother then filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans.  Her mother then placed the pots on the stove, turned up the heat, and as they boiled she didn’t say a word. After about 20 she removed each item from the boiling water and placed in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked,

“Tell me what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” her daughter replied.

She brought her daughter closer to the bowls and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked,

“What does this all mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but 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 CHANGED the water. “Which are you? Which should you be?” she asked her daughter.

DCB WANTS YOU TO THINK… WHO ARE YOU? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but because of a difficult situation you have become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside you are bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean ACTUALLY changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. So, how do you handle Adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

– Author Anonymous