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Posted: 12 Nov 2014 05:43 PM PST
 To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded. – Ralph Waldo Emerson If you have ever doubted yourself or believed you aren’t enough, this is for you. If you have ever lost hope, this is for you. If you have ever thought you couldn’t last one day longer, this is for you. If you have ever prayed this prayer, this is for you. The prayer What if I didn’t wake tomorrow, would anybody miss me? What if I kept my words to myself, would anybody care? Would it matter if I wasn’t here? Sometimes the world feels so large and I feel so small. The dreams that once kept me awake now haunt me because some may never come true. Why does it seem like everyone is better than me? Why does it seem like I will never get it right? What if I didn’t wake tomorrow, would anybody miss me? Would it matter? The answer Yes, it would matter. Everything you do has a ripple effect that touches the people around you. Even in your darkest hour, your presence has the ability to offer hope. It could be the smile you offer or an act of kindness you do, but understand this – you matter. You matter because you’ve been given gifts no one else has. You matter because you were created with God’s love. You matter because you were made to remind others how to be strong, be faithful and never give up. So, don’t you give up now. Because you matter. www.The BridgeMaker.com |
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. 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 do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they had gotten soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma, and then asked, "What's the point, Mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but 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. Itsthin 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 a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changesthe 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 hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?~ ~ ~ ~ Faith is the certainty that God's will is being carried out, even when it doesn't look like it.
