Which one are you? - Marriage Builders® Forums

I got this from a email. It's sort of long but I really found it interesting. Check it out.... Adversity <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not 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 father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one the placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he and turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.Turning to her he asked. "Darling, what do you see.""Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard- boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.She humbly asked. "What does it mean Father?"He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently.The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But 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," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? " _________________________________________________________How about you? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength?Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff have you become hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart?Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You know, as much as I would like to say that I'm the 'coffee bean', I know that I am not. I'm definitely working may way there but I must admit that I am still the 'egg'. At one time I was the 'carrot', but thank God I'm no longer there. But as far as the 'egg' scenario, I don't think that I'm bitter, however my insides are a little hard and numb after all this. So yes I have a ways to go, but I can feel that I'm definitely on my way....Any thoughts. ------------------ God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...Courage to change the things I can...And the wisdom to know the difference.lady_divine77@yahoo.com

Hello, I waffle between the egg and the coffee. This is not my First personal "tradegy", I have many others. Sometimes you have to be the egg, just to survive all of them. But thanks to GOD, I do survive, and then I can be the coffee again. My heart feels like a roasted marshmello. I can't even spell it!! To lazy to look it up. Always had a marshmellow heart. I prefer to keep up my wall of defense, or people break my heart to easily. Tradegy makes me too sensitive. I am a real fighter for the underdog. Lots of Hugs and Prayers.------------------ Deb

That coffee doesn't last long, it can get pretty bitter pretty quickly, and the beans get ground up and then unceremoniously thrown out after all their essence has been extracted from them. Then the drinker ... winds up jittery. Both the carrot and egg are wholesome and nourishing to the consumer.

jamie-lee,In following the story......"The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better."That'd be me!!!Thanks for sharing with us!Ragamuffin

I'd say I'm more coffee now, started out as the carrot, and mabey more like a soft boiled egg at times. I've needed to become stronger and am proud at how far I've come. At times I get angry, but it is fleeting and not the real me. Those around me are starting to see the old Petrie shining through. I refuse to let this hard knock keep me down. Thank you for the story. Petrie [Linked Image from marriagebuilders.com]

I think I'm the ladle. And I have no idea what that means. [Linked Image from marriagebuilders.com]

Hi jaimiethat was great. I loved it. I think I'm the coffee beans. Usually. With a bit of hard boiled egg thrown in.One of the men at work, who knows a little of my story, saw me looking a bit down one day. He said this to me, and it's stayed with me since.Jo, tough times don't last, but tough people do.I'm not bitter or twisted, and I don't ever want to be like that. But I do have my moments. But as I've just posted to cpickel, I'm excited about my future, even tho I have no idea what it holds. Just re-discovering myself is a fantastic opportunity. I'm happy with my life and looking forward to more of it!!!love and hugs to youJo

I think I went into the boiling water (marriage) a carrot, spent a great deal of it soft and weak, and came out an egg with quite a thick shell ... but still not quite hard inside.