Carrots, Eggs or Coffee....anyone???

Last night, I was surfing for some information on a certain something, one thing lead to another and somehow I reached a blog which really touched me. 

God gives us that which he knows we can handle .. .. but reading those stories left me speechless. Often I have heard, that a marriage can barely make it out intact after death or trauma of a child and yet I am so glad and astonished at how those parents have stood their ground together thru such a tragedy. Remarkable and amazing ! Indeed their faith has kept them together. 

.............here is a small yet very inspiring story: 

This message is to those people who mean something to me; to those who have touched my life in one way or another; to those who make me smile when I really need it; to those who make me see the brighter side of things when I are really down; to those whose appreciate our friendship; to those who are so meaningful in mylife. 

An Analogy – A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee…

You may 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 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 a 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 the 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 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?” 

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 a 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? 

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. 

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. 

It’s easier to build a child than to repair an adult…When Allah swt wishes to test his children’s faith, He usually tests them with Children or wealth. Some how in most cases, money follows child issues. Imagine a couple who has two disabled children, or a couple who knows one of his child has already been living on grace period out of very chronic severe disease, the pain anguish and helplessness, is something, I cannot even fathom, let put aside the feel. Please pray for the children as much for the parents. They need all the prayers. 

These are no doubt special moms and dads and what makes them special is that inspite of being just like you and me, flesh bones and emotions, they had the choice of accepting defeat in adversity and giving up, yet they kept fighting .. taking each day at a time. Remarkable stories of real life heros ~ moms and dads, just like you and me. 

(insyaallah...jazakallah....amin ya rabb)