I am a total slacker when it comes to blogging I guess! I noticed when I logged in this morning it has been over a month since I last posted and I AM SORRY! My life has been a wee bit busy lately with church stuff so I've been kind of flying under the radar.
Anyway, last week was our youth mission trip to Knox County, Tennessee with Appalachia Service Project and we had an adventure! Our accommodations were not what we had hoped for but we survived and have some great stories to tell! I enjoy road trips with the youth because you get to see their everyday life outside the walls of the church and I have to say, I am blessed with an amazing group of young people!
During our trip, our group was responsible for a morning devotional two mornings and I thought I would share one of the devos with you that I shared with the teams that were housed in Knox County.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about some things she was dealing with in her life. She didn't know how to handle some of the things and she just felt like giving up. To her, it seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three kettles with water and put them on the burners on the stove and turned the burners on high. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first, she placed carrots. In the second, she placed an egg and in the third, she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
After about 20 minutes, she turned the burners off. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. Next, she pulled out the eggs and placed them in a separate bowl. Last, but not least, she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a separate bowl also. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs and coffee," the daughter replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted they were soft. Then her mother asked her daughter to take and egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed a hard-boiled egg. Finally, her mother asked her to take a sip of the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "what does all this mean?"
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 insides became hardened.
The coffee beans were unique though. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.
James 1:12 ESV reads: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.
I know each of us have faced trials this week, We've been cooled down by cold showers and heated up by no air conditioning. Some of our projects haven't went as we had planned and there is probably a board or two that didn't fit exactly how we thought it would. Yes, trials come in all size packages and we've all received them but the question is this: How did you stand the test?
Are we the carrot? We seem strong but with pain and adversity, we wilt and become soft and lose our strength? Maybe we are like the egg. We start with a malleable heart but change with the heat. We have a fluid spirit but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship, the disappointment from a loved one or some other trial, we have become hardened and stiff. Does our shell look the same, but on the inside, are we bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or are we like the coffee beans? The beans actually change the hot water; the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases fragrance and flavor. If we are like the coffee beans, when things are at their worst, we get better and change the situation around us. When the hour is the darkest and trials are at their greatest, do we elevate our self to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or coffee beans? May we ALL be coffee beans!
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!
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