From Lemons to Lemonade

When life hands you lemons...make lemonade.

As of recent things have been hard, not just in the area of weight loss, but life in general. My emotions have been on high alert and it seems like water escapes my eyes more often than I care for it to. My lemons have been handed me. So now I need to make lemonade because I know this is having a direct effect on my weight loss efforts. Plus really who wants to be on heightened emotions all of the time anyway.

So to make that lemonade I will write a letter to myself as if I were writing to a dear friend, one struggling and needing some encouragement.

Dear Trish,

I am so sorry you are going through this rough time, I know you know this, but things are tough all over and times are hard everywhere (2Timothy 3:1-5). I say this to help you place what is going on in perspective.

First try to remember that there is one key relationship you absolutely want to make sure remains strong, as long as you do all will be ultimately OK. That is the one between you and God. (James 4:8) He is the only one that has final say and judgement (Isaiah 33:22), no human can or will be able to give you the things he promises (Luke 23:43; Revelation 21:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 9:5; John 5:28, 29). Also when you strengthen that relationship it is easier to deal with others to show love just as God shows love to you and them (1John 4:8).

Take things day by day (Matthew 6:4) as they come and trust in God (Proverbs 3:5) he will sustain you and give you the strength you need to cope and make it through anything, but you need to rely on him and to place your burdens upon him (Psalms 55:22). Remember when we do as God asks he promises he will sustain us (Matthew 6:33), we need to remember to do our part too though.

Things will eventually get better, you know they will and you know God is with you. Remember when you were so distraught yesterday you said the words "I wish my Dad were here" and what happened? Not even 5 minutes later he called you and with some encouraging news none the less. He NEVER calls you during the week, how can this just be a coincidence? God was listening to your cries and the need to talk to him. He did not give you the chance to try and calm down then call, instead he heard you right away and knew you needed to speak to him.

What about what is good in your life? You have a wonderful husband that loves you and does his best to encourage you, he works hard so you can be a stay at home Mom and care for your children and teach them and watch them grow and keep them close in the faith. Then you have your children, 3 beautiful, loving children that love God and serve him out of that love. Next you have some great friends, ones you know will counsel you when you step out of line because of how much they care about you. Finally there is you. You have such great qualities too and those too are blessings. You help others, you do what you can to make sure all that enter your home feel welcomed and special, daily you give of your time and energy to your children, to those in the congregation, in the community and most of all to God. You smile often and are working on bettering yourself to be the best representative of God you can be. To be an exemplary example to others around you. Daily you try and that is all any of us can do, we do our best and that is what I see in you. You need to be that friend you are to others to yourself too.

As I end this letter, please keep this close to heart and read it whenever you feel down, or feel as if others are judging you(whether they really or not) or just need a reminder of all the good that is here and to come and most of all always remember God does love you because he (John 6:44) draws those to him he loves and show faith in him and his ways.

Love your Friend

This is exactly what I would say to a friend, in fact I have said many of these things to many of my dear friends, so it is about time I say it to myself and be a friend to myself. Things certainly can always be worse and for many they do have it much worse than I. I do have many blessings in my life, things I am very thankful and grateful to God for. SO those lemons are going to be squeezed today and I will serve my lemonade with a smile. If my children remember nothing else I teach them, I hope the lesson they observe in me will be a positive one and one that will last a lifetime.

From Real Life:


Your Life, Your Blog ( April 13) It's time again for "Your Life, Your Blog" at Real Life! It's just a chance for you to share anything going on with you, your family and your blog! Every Monday on Real Life, I will be posting a linky where you can share any post from the previous week on your blog! That way, I can go through and read them, and you can too!

The only guideline is that it must be reated PG! This is a family blog, folks! You can share your life with your kids, a funny commentary, a contest you're hosting, reviews, an informative post, video, anything, really!

So join in and share the blog love.

Be sure to go back to Real life and visit the others.