Wednesday, December 5, 2012



Make Lemonade???

lemonz-2-2

I've always heard that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If I have heard this saying once, I've heard it a 1000 times. I have used it on many occasions.

Lately, it feels like those lemons are being hurled at me at 100mph and all I can do is dodge them. There is no lemonade to be made.

So, what do I do? 

Psalm 91


1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”


Sometimes all we can do is take shelter; there is no making lemonade or anything else out of the situation or circumstances. Is this failure? I don't think so, though at one time I probably would have said it was. In fact, in truth, I would have definitely thought I or anyone else that failed to 'make something out of lemons' was a failure.

As God tests and grows me, He is also changing my perspective and some of my long held beliefs. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Well, it is! It means that I am having to 'give up' some things, rethink some things, and reevaluate some things. For me, that is huge. If you know me well, you know it is huge... humongous... darn big. I am not easily swayed, hence some hard lessons have come my way. And hard is not a strong enough word for what I have experienced.

I want to be able to fix things. I want to use my intelligence to make things work. If I put enough effort out, it will work, right?  But, God doesn't value that 'effort' as much as He values my dependence on Him.

So, I am learning to hide in Him. HIDE? That means I am weak. Yes, Lisa, you are weak, in and of yourself. See, I had it all wrong. I thought I was being strong in Him, but not really. I was still working in my own strength, relying on my own intelligence and my agenda.

To hide in Him means something so much deeper than my human mind can naturally fathom. It is to be covered by Him, to be concealed. My Father wants me to run to Him in times of distress (or when lemons are being flung at my head). He is willing to shield me, but so often I just stand out in the open taking the hits.

It doesn't make me weak to hide in Him! It makes me strong in Him. I can never be strong enough myself; I have got to stop trying. It goes against everything the world says I should do. It turns the logic of the world upside down. I might even look weak to the world at times and I have got to be ok with that.

Have a figured it all out? Nope. But, I am working on it. I do not begin to have the answers. I still don't understand all that I and my family are going through. What I must do though, is find shelter in Him and forget about the lemonade.


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