When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade

Written by Lynn Jones on Sep 27, 2011 9:16 am

Strange, unexpected, and unusual things happen in our lives sometimes. People have accidents, encounter unknown illnesses, experience divorce, lose their jobs, and even die before they have lived what we think of as a full life.

It happened to my niece. When she was eleven years old she had an unexpected collision with a dump truck while riding her bicycle. That collision put her in a coma for several days because of head injuries. The head injuries caused her to have seizures all her life. In the beginning the seizures were far between in occurring. But in the last year they tormented her frequently and in intensity, sometimes occurring as many as 3 times a day.

She had her last seizure on Tuesday morning, September 13. That seizure caused her to have an accident that took her life. It’s tragic, I know. Senseless. So unnecessary.

She was only 40 years old. She had a long life ahead of her, one would think. A long life of frequent seizures that would often blacken her eye, require stitches, leave big bruises and cause her to be in a fog for several hours and sometimes even days.

My niece was handed lemons. Let me tell you how she made lemonade.

She never complained. She didn’t live in fear of when her seizures would occur. Instead she would find humor in her situation and joked about it. What a trooper!

She never married. Instead she said she was married to Jesus. Now that may seem strange with many folks. We all have our levels of Christianity or religion that we are comfortable with. With her, I think her condition drew her into a faith filled loving relationship with the One who gives her Eternal Life. That is what filled her with joy, love, faith, fearlessness and hope.

She loved to hug because she loved everyone. Her passion was singing and she did it beautifully. I bet she is singing now with the angels and my mom as she accompanies her on the accordion.

Are we sad that she has left this world and us? Yes we miss her, but we balance that with joy, knowing she is free of pain and the torment of seizures. She is with the Lord that gave her the strength to live with her lemons. He helped her make lemonade.

Do you have any lemons? Are you handicapped in any way? Are you divorced? Abandoned? Do you have a life threatening illness? Have you lost your job? Do you hate your job? Has a dear one passed away? Has you Online business been difficult? Is it failing?

We all have our adverse and difficult situations in our lives. The important thing is to take a good look at our situation and see how we can learn from it and see how it can be a blessing in our lives or in the lives of others.

The way you think, positively or negatively, determines the type of filter through which you view and experience life. When you think positively, you perceive life through a clear bright filter. You can still see problems, but you also see potential....that ray of sun shining through the clouds. Life looks, feels, and is just plain better. When you think negatively, a dark cloudy filter distorts everything you see and do. Worst of all, it screens out all the positive aspects of your life.

Focusing on the negativity of any of our situations is to live a life of misery and gloom. Focusing on the positive and looking for the blessings will bring a life of joy, peace, fulfillment and success.

Let me leave you with this quote from Ty Boyd. “Success comes from taking the hand you were dealt and using it to the very best of your ability.”

Has life handed you lemons? Make lemonade! Or plant a tree! Or make a lemon pie!

Have a blessed day,