When God
Gives You
Lemons...
Gives You
Lemons...
As a fallible human in relationship with a perfect, holy God, I often feel I am fumbling my way through when it comes to understanding His will in regard to every issue of life. His Word makes many things clear to us, but there is room for debate on others. In my Christian journey I have abstained from certain behaviors and/or embraced new disciplines at different seasons, depending on my understanding of God's will at the time. I'm sure I learned this, in part, from my parents, who were an example of people who tried to live lives pleasing to our Heavenly Father. There was a period in their walk with the Lord, when they were committed to showing special regard to Sunday by refraining from specific activities. One of those activities was buying and selling.
Recently my mom reminded me of a particular Sunday, years ago, when my dad had developed a sore throat. Dad always craves lemons when his throat is sore. When I asked him about this, he said they just felt soothing, and like they were healing. On this Sunday, as he always did when he was experiencing this unpleasant condition, Dad wanted a lemon. The thought occurred to him that he could go buy one, but he dismissed it, because he was trying to stay true to what he believed. It just so happened that my aunt dropped by the house. My aunt is a relative who lives in another town, and rarely visits at mom and dad's. During the course of their conversation my dad mentioned the fact that he had a sore throat, and that he sure would like to have a lemon. My aunt said, "Here, I've got one in my pocket." She reached in and then produced it. My dad couldn't have been more astounded if she had pulled a rabbit out of her hat.
When life gives us lemons, we are told to make lemonade. Only an all-knowing, loving Father is familiar with each one of us well enough to know when a sour lemon would be considered the best gift He could give!
Recently my mom reminded me of a particular Sunday, years ago, when my dad had developed a sore throat. Dad always craves lemons when his throat is sore. When I asked him about this, he said they just felt soothing, and like they were healing. On this Sunday, as he always did when he was experiencing this unpleasant condition, Dad wanted a lemon. The thought occurred to him that he could go buy one, but he dismissed it, because he was trying to stay true to what he believed. It just so happened that my aunt dropped by the house. My aunt is a relative who lives in another town, and rarely visits at mom and dad's. During the course of their conversation my dad mentioned the fact that he had a sore throat, and that he sure would like to have a lemon. My aunt said, "Here, I've got one in my pocket." She reached in and then produced it. My dad couldn't have been more astounded if she had pulled a rabbit out of her hat.
When life gives us lemons, we are told to make lemonade. Only an all-knowing, loving Father is familiar with each one of us well enough to know when a sour lemon would be considered the best gift He could give!
