“He is close to the broken and saves those whose spirit is crushed.” - - Psalm 34:18
Anna blamed no one for her unhappiness. But the pain from gloomy days, lonely nights, and a soul full of anger, sadness, and despair would finally end tonight!
She laid out 500 Ibuprofen tablets and 300 sleeping pills. That should do it! In the bathroom she poured a tall glass of water. Anna barely recognized the face that stared back at her in the vanity mirror - so tired, so vulnerable, so hopeless. A life of disappointments; her last failed relationship was the final chapter. Suicide would be her epilogue.
“Come with me child,” Grams said kindly. Without questioning, Anna followed her to the kitchen where Grams filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed eggs. She put potatoes in the second and coffee beans into the final one and brought all three to a rolling boil.
Once cool, Grams fished the eggs and potatoes into separate bowls. Then she ladled the coffee out and poured it in a mug. Turning to Anna, she asked, "Tell me what you see?"
Anna looked puzzled. "Eggs, potatoes, and coffee," she replied meekly.
“Look closer, use all your senses dear,” Grams encouraged.
Anna noted the potatoes were now soft. She cracked an egg, removed its shell and observed that the egg had become hard-boiled. She sipped the coffee, enjoying its rich aroma, waiting for Grams’ explanation.
“Each of these objects faced the same adversity - boiling water,” Grams began. “But each reacted differently. The egg’s thin outer shell protected its liquid center. But, subjected to boiling water, its inside hardened!
The potatoes went in strong and firm. The boiling water weakened them - soft enough to mash. Coffee beans are quite unique - they actually changed the water!
"Anna, which are you?" Grams asked without condemning. "When adversity knocks on your door, do you respond like an egg, a potato, or a coffee bean?”
“Does your shell appear hard – only to be easily broken by a setback, breakup or financial hardship? Is your heart malleable until the heat’s on? Are you strong like the potato, but wilt when misfortune strikes?”
“Anna, my dear child,” Grams continued, “We can’t do it alone. God’s love is like the coffee bean that can help change the very circumstances that bring you pain. Ask for His grace to release the beauty in your heart, like the fragrance of strong coffee:”
Merciful God, help me be like the coffee bean. When things are at their worst, help me change the situation around me. When the hours are darkest and my trials seem the greatest, help me elevate to another level. Amen.
