Making Lemonade

Many months ago I wrote my first blog post as a guest writer on a friend's blog. As I haven't had a lot of time to write lately, I thought I would bring this one "out of the archives". This is one of those lessons that never gets old or outdated. 

******

There’s an old proverb that says, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”  Life has been handing me lots of lemons lately:  a trust betrayed, the breakup of a marriage, the upheaval of my life. And while I have been trying to make lemonade out of all these lemons, it’s coming out pretty sour.

It took me a long time to decide to leave my husband.  In the many months that preceded this decision I spent a lot of time worrying. It seemed like my mind was constantly spinning. I couldn’t sleep very well because I would wake up in the middle of the night and instantly my mind would start to churn. I would be driving to and from work and all the while my mind would be churning, churning. Do I go, do I stay? Even after I made the decision to leave, the worrying got worse.

 

As a Christian, we are taught not to worry, not only about tomorrow, but as a rule in general. We are to place our trust in God, casting our cares to Him. While this sounds easy enough in theory, in truth I wish someone would tell that to my churning mind.  

So I prayed. I prayed that God would take these cares from me and help me to make the right decisions. I prayed that God would stop this churning mind of mine and give me some peace. In the midst of all this turmoil God revealed a very simple solution.

I have this little book I read every night before I go to bed written by Sarah Young called, “Jesus Calling.” Throughout this book there is a theme that suggests that any time you want to feel the presence of Jesus, speak His name. I even wrote that on a post-it note and put it in the front inside cover of the book. And then I found this scripture: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NLT) Could it really be that simple?  

One day on my way to work, as I found myself once again obsessing over things I couldn’t control, I spoke His name: “Emmanuel”. As an answer to a prayer, my mind went quiet.

In the Hebrew language Emmanuel literally means “God is with us”. I have found that by speaking His name in times of trouble it has become a way for me to stop my obsessive thoughts and put my focus where it should be, on God. This one word, spoken in a moment when God is not in the forefront of my thoughts, puts God first and gives me the sweet calming that I so desperately need. It is the sugar to sweeten my sour lemonade, an answer to a prayer, a miracle.

Throughout this difficult time I have traveled a path that I would have thought impossible only a few short months ago, and God has been there with me every step of the way. In the end I have learned that through the tough times the only thing I need to do is: breathe in and breathe out, put one foot in front of the other, and let God take care of the rest. God has answered many prayers for me and I have so much to be thankful for. These days I not only speak “Emmanuel” as a cry for help, but also as a word of thanksgiving. Thank you, Lord, for taking care of me.  

Lemonade anyone?