Hard times will always come knocking on the door. But what’s really important when it does is to have someone besides us who can lend an ear, and shoulder to cry on…

A young woman was facing a hard time in life. It seemed as if one problem was multiplying with another, then another, and another. On top of all that, her husband cheated on her. And she just couldn’t do it all by herself…

She had it enough, and just like we all need someone to talk to about our problems, she went to her grandmother and told her all about it. She was simply tired of fighting and spending her life solving problems.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen, filled up three pots with water, and turned up the stove.

When the pots came to boil, in the first one she placed a carrot, in the second she placed an egg, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without uttering a single word.

In about fifteen to twenty minutes, she turned off the stove. She took out all three and placed them in a bowl. The daughter, eager to look, came close and observed. “What do you see?” her grandmother asked her.

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

She told her to come and feel the carrot. She took it in her hand and could barely hold it without breaking it. Then the grandmother asked her daughter to take the egg and smash it next to the stove.

After pulling the shell out, she saw that the egg was hard inside. Lastly, the grandmother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. Her daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma and asked, “What does it it all mean, grandmother?”

“Each of these objects faced the same struggle. Call it adversity, which was boiling water.” The grandmother then explained: “However, not all of the objects responded the same to the boiling water. First, the carrot, which looked strong and unbreakable, went soft and fragile. The egg was weak on the inside, having the protective shell to keep the liquid inside, but became strong after the boil. The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they 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?”

Are you all tough on the outside, but when tough situations occur, you turn into a soft, powerless person? Or do you look weak on the inside but become resistant once adversities occur? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside, are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

You have to choose this for yourself.

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