Make Some Lemonade

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. Although the expression was coined by Hubbard, many modern authors attribute the expression to Dale Carnegie who used it in his 1948 book, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”. Carnegie's version reads: "If You Have a Lemon, Make a Lemonade."

Right now, you may be facing some lemon situations. What ‘lemon’ experiences are you encountering in your life at this moment? I am sure that in this fallen world no one escapes negativity or adverse situations. Whether it be job loss, ill health, poor relationships, childlessness, the question remains, “what can one do to make their situation a ‘lemonade’ experience?”.

Today, we are facing traumas that we have never seen before. If COVID 19 was not bad enough, here we are again in another lemon experience; the horrendous dust emitted from the Soufriere Volcano in St. Vincent.

James 1:2-4 (MSG) says:

2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

What is James saying? Is he suggesting that amidst the present turmoil in your life you should be joyful? Yes, he is. I don’t know about you, but as I journey through life one thing that I have learned is that nothing comes to stay, but everything comes to pass. It’s just a matter of time. It is not so much that we have experienced, but rather, what we learned from the episodes.

So right now, you are faced with some dilemmas. You seem to have fallen on your back and there can be no further going down; what are you going to do about it? Look up, pinch yourself! Are you still living? If you are, then there is hope.

Let’s say that you have lost your job. Do you have a skill, a dream, or a talent? Now is the time to dust them off. Look from within to see how you can use your joblessness as a means of pursuing that dream that has been burning in your spirit for many years. Start to make some lemonade; examine your resources and make a start. Nothing just happens! Who knows but that joblessness came to energize you into purpose!

Or, you may have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and believe that you are near your end; you somehow sense that there is more to your life. Whose report will you believe? The doctor’s or the Spirit of God that lives inside of you?

I have a friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and with a positive attitude and a belief in God, she is now cancer-free. What are you telling yourself? My mantra is that your attitude determines your altitude.

It does not matter where you are in your life right now, you can make a difference. It’s time to make some lemonade!