A young lady was facing an extremely difficult situation in her life when she went to her pastor for counsel.  The pastor took her into the kitchen of the church and boiled a pot of water.  He proceeded to take out a carrot, an egg, and some coffee beans, and tossed each into the boiling water. After a few minutes, he then asked the young woman to observe the items that were tossed into the pot. 

     He said, “Each ingredient was subjected to the same thing – the hot water – but each one responded differently. The carrot went in hard and came out soft. The egg went in fragile and came out hardened.  However, the coffee beans actually changed the water.” He then asked, “Will you allow your situation to change you, or will you change your situation?”

     Robertson Davies said, “Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and then become more extraordinary because of it.”  The truth is, from time to time, we all experience the hot waters of hardship. So the question is not, “Will trials come into my life?” They do and they will.  The question is “How do I respond, and what will I do to make the situation better?”  God uses adversity to grow and develop our faith.  You never know, He may use your situation to prepare a pot of coffee for someone else.