ARE YOU LIKE A CARROT, AN EGG OR A TEA BAG?

A young woman went to her mother and told her that 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 soon as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed tea leaves. 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 tea out into a bowl.

  Turning to her daughter, she asked, “What do you see?”

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

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the tea. 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—but 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 tea leaves 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 tea leaves?”

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 loved one’s death, a relationship 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 tea leaves? The tea leaves actually change the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If I am like the tea leaves,when things are at their worst, I get better and change the situation around me through Christ-likeness.