You know the saying. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The basic meaning is this: when life gets tough, make the best of it. But what if life is more than just “tough”? What if it’s downright unbearable? I have an experience like that and I’m currently living it out. Two years ago, my five younger siblings and I got placed in separate foster homes across the state. This was, to put it in the simplest terms possible, traumatic. We were a very close group of siblings. We told each other everything. We spent as much time with each other as possible. I played a huge role in raising them. And we all got ripped apart from each other literally overnight. We couldn’t see each other. We couldn’t talk on the phone. We were all living with strangers. It was torture. Life had just thrown me a huge bag of lemons, and everyone expected me to make lemonade. And I tried. I tried really, really hard. But I couldn’t find any sugar to make my lemonade sweet. In other words, I couldn’t find the good in the situation. There was never a bright side for me. All I managed to do was squeeze the lemon juice into a pitcher. There was nothing to sweeten it up into lemonade. My point is, we don’t have to always focus on the bright side. Now, I’m not saying go become a pessimist. I’m saying that we go through bad things, and we don’t have to always be happy about it.
Even Jesus Himself was upset when He was going through struggles. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36 When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was to be crucified, that was His prayer. He was pleading with God to take his suffering away. He was not jumping for joy trying to find the bright side of his situation. But take note to the most important part of that scripture: Yet not what I will, but what you will. As much as He was in agony about His situation, He was willing to press forward. He was going to give Himself up to be crucified because He knew He would come out on top in the end. I know that what I’m about to say is cliché as all get out, but it’s also true. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes, the tunnel is too long to be able to see the light when you’re first starting out. But if you press forward, continue the race, the light will eventually get brighter and brighter. Another example of someone who was thrown some lemons but couldn’t make lemonade was Job. There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. Job 1:1 This man was perfect. He had everything. A family, a successful farm, everything. And then he went through immense trials and tribulations. His family died. His cattle died. His servants died. His health declined. He was tormented by Satan. And he hated every second of it. He also was not trying to find the good in a bad situation. He just took it. But the most significant part was that he still trusted God. I gave you those two stories because you need to know that it’s important to keep going. Don’t stop. Keep pressing forward. Take Paul’s advice and run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Your light at the end of the tunnel will come. But until it does, it’s okay to be upset about your situation. Because sometimes, you just can’t make lemonade.
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MissionIn short, I started this blog because I want to give girls all over the world hope. All of the topics I write about on this blog are things that I have struggled with or am still struggling with. I want to help young women everywhere achieve freedom through Christ. Archives
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