When Life Gives You Lemons
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Some people say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.
Some lemonade can be sweet and some bitter. It is your choice in what flavor you choose. In my case, I always looked to be sweet on the outside, yet I lived bitter on the inside. For years I’ve lived so bitter…bitter at life. Bitter at all the things that have happened to our family. Yet, I always portrayed to be sweet on the outside like all was good, but for me it wasn’t! I was living fear over faith, not faith over fear! I’d look up to the sky and ask "Why?" and "What next?" I’d say, “This isn’t fair, why us AGAIN?” My faith was drifting and my heart was crumbling!
Friends, family and even people we didn’t know well were always praying, although the prayers were heard and most were answered, I still wondered, “Why?”
All along, I was receiving daily devotionals from a lot of friends and family. Some days I’d read them and others I’d push aside as I was just lost, lost in life! Then, I had a time when I went back and read and re-read what was being sent to me! I knew I needed to get my mind and myself back to the Lord…and TRUST in him again! So, I started looking up verses I could fall back on when I was in fear…
Psalm 46
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.”
Knowing my fear was taking over my faith and my fear was holding me hostage, I would continue to say “WHY?”. At this point I knew the only fear I should have, was the fear of the Lord. This needed to change, I needed to change! I couldn’t continue to live like this. Living in fear is not healthy, for me or for my family.
Deuteronomy 31:6
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
People would always say, “You’re so strong. How do you do it?” My response was, “How do I not?” I knew the Lord was always with me, and I wondered how I was possibly so strong, as I did not see myself that way. But I knew by keeping my faith, even by the little string I had left to hold onto, He would not leave me!
Over the years my mother-in-law has sent me many encouraging words. Here are some of them I often look back to:
“Faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem, faith takes you through the problem. Faith doesn’t always take away the pain, faith gives you the ability to handle the pain. Faith doesn’t always take you out of the storm, faith calms you in the midst of the storm.”
I’ve learned to hold on to my faith, even if it’s by the thinnest piece of thread!
Don’t judge a book by its cover! Some people are open books, while others may have a beautiful cover, but their story on the inside is not so exciting!
I’ll leave you with a couple verses I’ve learned to live by…
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Psalm 118:24
"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."