It's no secret that I like coffee. 

I've joked with people before that it makes me a better human being, and that's not too far off of reality. I purchased an espresso maker a few years back on someone's recommendation, and it makes an incredible cup of coffee. Straight double espresso with a splash of heavy cream, and it is just joy in a cup.

That first cup in the morning before the day starts sprinting toward the finish line is a wonderful moment of time to reflect, and think, and just be present in the moment. 

I know a number of you appreciate a good cup of coffee as well, so it's my hope that this story resonates. I came across it this week and wanted to share.

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, groaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the boiled eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. ‘Daughter, what do you see?’

‘Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,’ she hastily replied.

‘Look closer,’ he said, ‘and touch the potatoes.’ She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

‘Father, what does this mean?’ she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

‘Which are you,’ he asked his daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?’

So the moral of the story is you can't drink potatoes or hard boiled eggs... wait, that's not it.

How do we handle adversity? How do we address the pressures of life and the challenges which confront us?

Do we allow those lumps to bury us? Break us down and conquer us? Feeling helpless in the face of them? Do we become hardened? Perhaps callous? Strong at the expense of a willingness to ask for help? Or do we utilize that adversity as an opportunity to grow and to become something new? Stronger, perhaps bolder with notes of citrus?

2020 has been a year for the record books, and I believe that this is only the beginning. The time to come is described as 'birth pangs', and the past 3 months have seen contractions of economics, race relations, public health, governmental authority, and a whole host of other things. 

It's hard to imagine where it goes from here, but we know it will reach a point to which if it continued no flesh would be saved alive.

But notice what is written in Mark 13:20 - it is for our sake, for the elect, whom He chose, that God stays His hand. How will you respond to the adversity? Will you be a potato? An egg? Or a coffee bean? 

Happy Sabbath to you all!