May We All Be Coffee!

A Carrot, An Egg, And A Cup Of Coffee...

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life 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, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came 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 twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see.." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

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 inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?!  Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?
 

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

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.  The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a great email we received from Beth of Charleston. It's about the kindness and generosity of the WVU Football team.

I would like to tell you the story of a very courageous young man and several other young men that made his dream come true. I am a teacher at James Wood High School, His name is Kevin Freeland, and Kevin is not an ordinary young man, he also has an inoperable brain tumor that threatens his young life. In the past 5 years he has had 29 surgeries. At times he has had to learn how to walk, speak, and eat all over again. Complications from the tumor have also caused Kevin to need a tracheotomy to help him breathe. A colleague of mine, Bruce Fowler, was able to make that happen.  Bruce attends church with the parents of Nate Sowers, and Nate made it possible for Kevin's dream to come true on April 11, 2008. I was lucky enough to be invited to come along, and the entire experience was one that I will cherish for all of my life.

Mike Kerin welcomed us to the practice facility around 4:00 in the afternoon. As we walked through the doors of the practice facility, Kevin had to literally be held in the standing position because his knees were shaking so badly. As we watched the team practice, Kevin, was awestruck. During this time, Reed Williams came to the sidelines to talk to Kevin, take pictures, and welcome Kevin to the practice.

At the end of the grueling practice, although the exhaustion was evident on the faces of the players, one by one they filed off the field, and instead of heading to the much anticipated showers and rest of the locker-room, they crowded around Kevin, welcoming him into their fold. The players treated him as if he were a member of the team.  Each one let Kevin hug them, signed autographs, laughed with him, and made the day so amazingly special, that it brought tears to many eyes.

Patiently waiting at the back of the pack, was Patrick White. When Kevin met our quarterback, he screamed and fell to the Astroturf. Though slightly taken off guard, Pat handled it all in stride. He treated Kevin as if he were an old friend. He patiently chatted with one of Kevin's friends via cell phone, he let Kevin hug him again and again, and spent over half an hour talking with all of us. He made Kevin's dreams come true. The most touching moment of the afternoon was when once again, Kevin got to his knees to do the "We're not worthy", and Pat White returned the gesture and said "No, Kevin, you are my hero".

Bill Stewart also spent several minutes of his precious time with Kevin and his family. When I told him how impressed I was with the team's willingness to make Kevin's day so special he replied, "I am not raising young athletes, I am raising young men". Truly this team is full of men who possess not just great athletic ability, but hearts and moral fiber that commands recognition.


 I would also like for all of West Virginia to know what an amazing group of young men we have representing our state, and what a classy gentleman we have leading them.

 Sincerely,
Karen M. Kile-Carr
Resident of Martinsburg, WV
Teacher of Mathematics at James Wood High School.