The happiest of people do not necessarily have the best of everything: they just make the best of everything that comes their way. If we are to be truly happy, and please understand there is a difference between happiness and joy, we must learn how to handle adversity. This is to say, the trials and tribulations that come along in each of our lives.
It has been truthfully said that into each life a little rain must fall — not WILL fall but MUST fall. If you are not facing some adversity at this time in your life, you can just thank the Lord, because there is some adversity coming down the pike. This is just a part of life.
A good while back a dear departed friend, Lippy Lippincott, sent me a story that I would like to call “A recipe for handling adversity.” There are several principles in this story that, if understood and applied, can help any of us handle adversity better when it comes along.
“A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, her marriage 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, another one arose.
“Her mother took her into the kitchen. She filled three pots of water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots began 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 20 minutes she turned off the burners. She then fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. She also fished out the eggs and placed them in a bowl. She then ladled out the coffee and placed it in a bowl.
“Now, here is the object lesson that will be obvious when it is revealed. Turning to the 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. The mother then asked her daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed a hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted the rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, Mother?’
“The mother then explained that each of these objects — the carrots, the eggs and the coffee beans — had faced the same adversity of boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The carrots went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, they softened and became weak. The eggs had been fragile. Each one with its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside had become hardened. The coffee beans were different. After they were in boiling water, they had CHANGED the water, to a delicious liquid drink.
“After this little demonstration the mother asked her daughter, ‘When adversity knocks at your door, which one are you, a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?’”
Obviously, this is a question we could each ask ourselves when we are facing a time of adversity.
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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)