Just throw the lemons away!

Has anyone ever said these words to you? "When life gives you lemons make lemonade!" These words are usually said with a smile as if the speaker has answered every one of your questions and solved all the problems related to a very intricate and difficult situation. By the way, it is normal to want to punch the throat of this "one who spouts unhelpful clichés!” One-size-fits-all remarks rarely do justice to the complexity of the problems that arise within this broken world. To go even a step further, quoting one-size-fits-all verses rarely bring peace to the pain some humans are enduring.

I had something happen this afternoon that was not extremely painful but was frustrating and difficult to endure. And as I drove away from the place where this “something” occurred I pondered, “Why did that have to happen?” Keep in mind what took place was not that big of a deal. But the disappointment was deep enough to cause that Lament-Psalm question, “Why, O Lord?” After I meditated for a few brief moments, the lemonade formula came to mind. And then I thought, “These lemons are rotten and probably would make disgusting lemonade!”

There are times we should simply dispose of the produce we receive from the fruit trees of this fallen world. Stop trying to find meaning in the pain or figure out what God is trying to teach us. Often there is no answer this side of resurrection as to why God has allowed certain “thorns” to steal our blood. But we do have the confident hope that he will one day overcome all our suffering and purge this world of all “lemons.”

So sometimes life will give us lemons and the only appropriate response is to use them to sharpen the blades on the garbage disposal.                

Happy Meals, Haircuts, Tooth Removal and Abba's Heart

After a brief respite, I resumed my duties today as the only adult in our home that will pull teeth. This was a significant one too – Alle’s left front tooth! She turns seven on Monday, so this is a birthday weekend which means yesterday we took her and four of her friends to McDonald’s for Happy Meals, presents, and that ultimate challenge to every child’s immune system – A Few Rounds in the Playland!! This morning, Yulinda and Alle also took a trip to the Hair Salon and both returned looking more beautiful than ever!! We then realized the removal of the tooth that Alle had been wiggling with her tongue and thumb was long overdue. This meant she had fifteen minutes to find a way to get the tooth to its waiting-for-the-Tooth-fairy position before adult intervention was necessary. She tried and tried and tried, albeit unsuccessfully. I was then faced with the unlovely proposition of holding my precious Alle’s quivering face in my hands. Her face being cutely bordered with its freshly bobbed hair made this all the more difficult. Furthermore, Alle’s eyes make her a candidate for Southwest Airlines commercials. They are strikingly large and grayish green with lashes whose thickness make all the thin-lashed ladies guilty of breaking the Tenth Commandment. As I held her face in my hands, she cried, “I don’t want Daddy to pull it out. I don’t want him to pull it out.” At this moment I felt a small twinge of what it must be like for our heavenly Father, when He allows temporary pain into our lives, which while it hurts, ultimately results in our good and will lead to resurrection. As I worked to inflict as little pain as possible upon Alle and to keep all my fingers attached to my hand, I kept thinking, “Alle, if you only knew how good it will feel after this is all over.” I think, just maybe, something similar runs through the Mind of heaven as we suffer. I believe our grief grieves God. I don’t believe He whines to the Community of heaven about “those sad wimpy kids of his” as our prayers for relief reach His listening ears. Instead, Jesus embodies for us a for-us Abba who longs to put an end to the suffering of His children and who will one day “wipe every tear from our eyes.” 

So offer your prayers for relief to the Father of Jesus and just maybe you will sense his longing love say to you, “If you only how good it will feel after this is all over.”

May the hope of suffering’s end enable us to endure present suffering and to work to diminish the suffering of others.