May 3, 2021
When I heard this parable a few months back, it grabbed me. A father telling her daughter to be strong when times are tough. Explaining to her that life can be hard and the circumstances can make you stronger or they can crush you, depending on your choices. So now I’d like to share it with you...
The parable of the Potato, Egg, and Coffee Bean
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 followed.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each one on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed a potato in one pot, an egg in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them boil for a while without saying a word to his daughter.
The daughter moaned and waited impatiently, wondering what her father was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potato and egg out of their pots and place them in different bowls, and poured the coffee into a cup.
Turning to her he asked, "What do you see?" "A potato, an egg, and coffee," she quickly replied. "Look closer," he said and touch the potato. She did and noted that it was soft. He then asked her to take the egg and break it. After removing the shell she observed a hard-boiled egg. Finally he asked her to sip of the coffee. It’s rich aroma brought a smile to her face.
"Father, what does this all mean?" she asked.
He then explained that the potato, egg, and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity – 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 coffee beans were unique. After being exposed in the boiling water, they change the water and created something new.
"Which one are you?" he asked his daughter. When adversity knocks to your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, egg, or a coffee bean?
In an instant, she got it. In life, things happen around us. Things happen to us all the time. But the main thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
When you face problems:
… don’t let them make you weak and have a give up attitude;
… don’t allow them to make you hard, harsh, and have a bitter attitude;
… use them to create something new - to change the world around you, because of what you’ve been through in life. Choose to be a difference-maker!
We are either overcome by our circumstances or we are overcomers of our circumstances. – Wendy Blight