I like C.S. Lewis’s saying, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destination.”
Life can be full of hard situations, which are like getting thrown into a pot of boiling hot water.
With this, we can choose to react in one of three different ways. We can either be like a carrot, an egg, or a teabag.
During Pastor’s sermon he quoted an analogy. We’ve all heard one version or another, but this one spoke strongly to me…
Take a pot of boiling water and place an egg in it;
The egg was soft, and now is hard!
– the boiling water changed the egg.
Now take the same pot of boiling water and place a carrot into it;
The carrot was hard, and now is soft!
– the boiling water changed the carrot.
Now, say I am a tea bag, and I say to the pot of boiling water:
“Hey Mr Pot you are pretty big, bad & boiling…”
“When the egg was put in you, you changed the egg…”
“When the carrot was put in you, you changed the carrot…”
“But when I come in there, I will change you!”
“You will no longer be called Mr Boiling Water…”
“I will change your name!”
“No longer will you they call you water but now they will call you… TEA!”
“Once you were colourless but now I will add some colour to your life.”
“I will change your chemistry…”
“I will change your DNA…”
“I will change everything about you…”
“You can go to the best labs in the Country but they will never be able to take ME out of YOU!”
“I just want to be a TEA BAG!”
The teabag is different than the carrot and the egg. Once it gets placed in hot water, it reveals flavour and fragrance to everything else in the pot. As situations get worse, the teabag continuously gets better and it changes the situation.
How do you handle adversity? Do you get soft like a carrot, hard like an egg, or strong like a teabag?
Whatever circumstance I find myself facing, I’m asking God to teach me what it means to be strong like the teabag.
Life is not easy, but it’s in difficult times that we grow. As we stand, endure and fight the good fight of Faith we pass the test. With Faith in Jesus, “All things are possible”
2 Timothy 4:17 reminds us, “The Lord stands by me and strengthens and empowers me… and delivers me from the Lions mouth.”
Isaiah 41:10 reminds us, “Don’t panic, I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I AM YOUR GOD, I’ll give you strength, I’ll help you, I’ll hold you STEADY, and keep a FIRM GRIP on you.”
Thank you Lord that you are preparing me for an extraordinary destination!