Lemonade

We've heard it many times; "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  The challenge is that there are three ingredients to a good fresh lemonade,  of course, there are the lemons, then there is ice cold water and finally sugar.   Without a bit, or maybe a lot, of sugar drinking lemonade can be a real sour experience and the pure cold water is a very essential ingredient.   

The truth is life sometimes does hand us "lemons" and we have a choice about what we are going to do with those lemons.   Are we going to let the acid and bitterness of the lemons mar our lives or are we going to let it become that ingredient that gives some added zing to something that was otherwise ordinary?    

When we choose to let our lemons mar our lives, we become bitter in an unpalatable way.  

When that bitterness envelops us there is no sweetener that we can quickly apply to make the bitterness suddenly become palatable. Oh, we may try to mask the bitterness with coping mechanisms like avoidance, making excuses or anger.   Using these mechanisms to deal with bitterness is like masking the effect of too much lemon with sugar.  It sounds like a good idea, but sometimes diluting, straining, or adding other complementary flavors are also necessary to create something palatable.  

Once bitterness is established it takes a bunch of work and some real creativity to overcome its negative effects.  

Since bitterness rots you from the inside out, we must deal with it from the inside out. Some better ways of dealing with bitterness include recognizing the problem, determining to eradicate the bitterness (even if we can't get rid of the source we can get rid of the impact), and start the transforming process either of purification or alteration.  We can turn it around to have a beautiful impact on us instead of a damaging one. 

To live a life without bitterness requires both determination and trust in God.   The scripture tells us to "get rid of all bitterness" (Eph 4:31)  and that bitterness is linked to being held captive to sin (Acts 8:23).  To break those chains that hold us captive and to get rid of the bitterness involves relying on God.  "We have divine power to take thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ." 2 Cor. 10:3-5. and we can embrace the truth that God makes all things Beautiful in His time (Eccl  3:11) when we submit to His ways and will.    

The cure for bitterness is a determination and trust in God.  It is going to take some work to trust, some stepping out in boldness, some creative thinking and maybe even allowing God to use His hammer and chisel on us so that we have a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone.  The work is in God's hands but the determination to bring Him into the process is ours.