I PRAY THAT YOU ARE COFFEE    
  
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Carrots,  Eggs, & Coffee!

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 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 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 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
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 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? 
May  you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you  
strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you  happy. 
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. 
You  might want to send this message to those people who mean something to 
you  (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way  or
another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to  those who 
make you see the brighter side of things when you are really  down; to those 
whose friendships you appreciate; to those who are so  meaningful in your life. 
If  you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to  brighten
someone's day with this message! 
May  we all be  COFFEE!!!!!!!



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