If you’ve read some of my earlier blog posts, you may wonder why I’m suddenly talking about lemons again after almost a year. (“Life With Lemons” and “Lemonaded”).
Well, because… they’re coming baaaa-aack…
I knew this of course, on some level, but yet, I didn’t know it. Not really. Because I’m still shocked, when I shouldn’t be.
A little recap:
In “Life With Lemons”, I confessed that I don’t like lemon anything, and I definitely am not into lemonade. So when life presented me with lemons last year, I knew I needed to make lemonade (“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”). After trying a creative recipe in a failed attempt to sweeten the lemon flavor, I decided to do my best to develop a taste for the stuff; to embrace what was. That was the right approach, and I was able to do that fairly successfully with God’s help.
Then in “Lemonaded”, I discovered that lemonade has many flavors, because lemons don’t all taste exactly the same. I kept tasting different lemonade flavors and trying to expand my palette, determined that even though I didn’t like all these new flavors and being forced to taste each one, I would do my best to be a good sport and stick with it. That attitude was helpful, though I definitely didn’t accomplish this mindset on my own either. God is good all the time.
So in summary, with God’s help, me and lemons, we finally reached a mutual agreement. That was wonderful.
But… well, I still cheered when they were gone. YES!
Oops.
Now I feel like I’m starting all over. Lemons have informed me that they will be back, and they are all laughing at me.
No, I haven’t had another unplanned “adventure”. Not yet anyway, thank God.
But I have had a rude awakening.
As with most any rude awakening in my life, the source was flawed expectations. This rude awakening was a bit different than usual in that it was revealed progressively, not all at once. It was a gradual rude awakening, if that makes any sense. One puzzle piece falling into place, then another, until recently I saw the beginnings of the finished product. I wanted a do over.
I had my adventures with water damage to my house and restoration, and I did my best to keep the big picture in mind and have a positive attitude as much as I could. I learned how to make and taste a wide variety of lemonade flavors.
And then, thankfully that season was over. Yay! No more lemons, forever.
Now, why would I think that? I have no idea. I know better. Maybe it was just extra strong wishful thinking since I’d experienced such elaborate adventures for several months.
Now, I know what really happened when the lemons went away last year. They took a hiatus to regroup and prepare to come back with more lemon flavors for me to sample.
How do I know this? Because I’ve had some unwelcome reminders about the nature of lemons. The lemons I’m referring to are the kind that bombard you when you aren’t ready; the kind that barge in when you didn’t invite them. You have a choice. You can either make lemonade and partake of it with its many flavors and levels of tartness, or you can get pummeled.
Here's the thing about lemons in my life:
They never go away. Not entirely. They take breaks, but they will always return.
They are a presence.
And, believe it or not, they are unlikely gifts. Presents.
How? Why?
They are ongoing reminders that we live in a broken messed up world, one full of irreparable damage. And we need those reminders, so that we see repeatedly the truth that when it comes down to it, we need a Savior, and we wait for a whole new world that is far better than a repaired one.
Now I see that storm clouds are back on the distant horizon, and I don’t know how or when they will come, but I know they will. Yes, they will gather again, and it’s just a matter of time until it’s raining lemons all over my parade. Again. Just different lemons, and I don’t know exactly what kind of lemons they will be.
But life is like that, with lemon showers that may let up off and on, but never cease. I just needed a reminder. Didn’t want a reminder, but there you go.
I need a stronger umbrella. And rain gear. And a stronger resolve to be positive and rest more in the knowledge that God will not be surprised by whatever happens. I need to nurture the truth I know that no matter what, all will be well because I am never alone. I need confidence in the decisions I make now and along the way that could help me ride out the storm.
I can have all that, in the best way, in the ongoing love, grace, protection, and sovereignty of Jesus Christ. The strongest umbrella ever. The top rain gear. The otherworldly resolve and confidence that I lack. The mind of Christ for whatever comes.
All I have to do is ask, and then I can see the goodness of the Lord, because even if it's not my definition of good, it still is, more than I can fathom. And there, I can rest, even with lemons falling from the sky.
Whatever comes, He's got it.
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