Sensitive Measures

Taken from Tinshill evangelical church magazine

A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee… you will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

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 into the kitchen. She filled three pans with water and placed each on a high heat. 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 do 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 peeling 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?” 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 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?”

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 flavour.

When things are at their worst, the Christian can trust in the Lord with all his/her heart knowing that He does all things well. When the hour is the darkest and trials are at their greatest the Christian waits patiently for God, trusting Him for all things. Whether the trial ends or strength is given to bear it, the fragrance of the presence of God brings light into the darkness and glory to God through the trust of His servant.
Remember this next time you have a cup of coffee.
(Submitted with kind permission of Anchored Magazine)