Tuesday, August 2, 2011

"When God measures a man, he puts the tape around his heart, not his head."

You'll never look at coffee the same way again (and as college kids, we look at coffee a lot)

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how thing 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 though just 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 20 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 said, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did, and noted that they weer soft. Then the mother 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 asked, "what does it mean, mother?" as she drank the coffee. 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? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

- posted by Caroline Hoffman 

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