“Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill.” Matthew 5:6
A daughter came home from school, mumbling and complaining about how hard her day was. The other students were mean. The teachers were tough. Her walk home was too hot. On and on she went with her troubles.
She told her dad she was done. No more school, no more trying –she was too tired.
Her father listened to her, nodded, and then said, “Come into the kitchen with me.” Once there, he pulled out three pots and filled them with water. Then, he placed them each on a burner.
When the three pots came to a boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the next, and ground coffee in the last pot. This whole time, he didn’t say a word to his daughter, who rolled her eyes and complained watching the pots boil. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited. Finally, he turned off the burners, took the potatoes out and put them in a bowl, pulled the eggs out and did the same. Lastly, he ladled the coffee into a mug.
“What do you see?” he asked his daughter.
She rolled her eyes again. “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee.”
Dad smiled. “Look closer –and touch the potatoes. How do they feel?”
“They’re soft,” she answered.
“Now, break the eggs.”
She did as he asked and told him they were hard-boiled.
“Now, sip the coffee.”
She smiled but asked, “What does all this mean?”
He explained to her that the potatoes, eggs and coffee beans all faced the same boiling water. But each had a different reaction. The potatoes turned soft and the eggs became hard. But the coffee beans? They changed the water, turning it into something new and wonderful.
The father asked his daughter, “Which one are you?”
Each of us will face adversities – the “hot water” of life. When this happens, we have to decide if those adversities will make us soft or hard – or if we have the ability to change the situation.
Daily, our Father is there to help us make the best of everything we face. Sometimes, He’ll soften our hearts. Other times, He’ll strengthen us. And of course, there are those wonderful times when He changes us into something brand new. What is He calling you to be during this special season?
Watering the Seeds
Can you think of a time in your life when you faced adversity, like the coffee beans, and changed the situation?
How can prayer help us in these times?
