Step #1. Cut up the lemons. That's right. You've got to cut them up into slices. There's a couple of reasons to do so. You can't get the juice out without slicing those lemons. How does this help us in a literal sense? Take your problem and cut it up into manageable pieces. As a man, one of my biggest issues is trying to tackle the whole problem at once. That never ends well. Tackle small portions at a time. This will give you those all important small victories when you resolve the small portion of the problem and give you the encouragement to move on to the next slice of the problem.
Step #2. Add water. Pure lemon juice is pretty stout. It needs to be diluted with water. When life hands you lemons, you better water them down. What do I mean by this? Dilute the lemons. Take your problems and cares to the Lord in prayer. Like the old gospel hymn says "have a little talk with Jesus." Find a good friend or a loved one to talk to. The worst thing you can do is hold all those lemons in.
Step #3. Add sugar. Yep. Find you some sugar and sweeten those lemons right up. My Mom always would say that every cloud has a silver lining, you just have to look for it. When you realize that life has handed you a big bucket of lemons, look for the silver lining. It may be hard to find, but it's there. Let me give you an example.
On a recent road trip, the transmission went out on our vehicle. We were 45 minutes away from our destination and 2 hours away from home. I told my boys that we were blessed that it happened exactly when and where it did. We broke down right by an off ramp, so we were able to get off of the parkway safely. We were on a flat stretch of the road. If we had been a few minutes further down the road, we would have been in some pretty serious hills and if the transmission had went out on those hills, there's no telling what would have happened. See, a silver lining.
Step #4. Stir. Stir it all up. Add all these things and mix well--get your problems into bite sized portions, add water and sugar. Pretty soon, your lemons will indeed be lemonade.
I'm at a point in my life, where I really don't like it when life gets turned upside down. But it happens. I've learned that it's best to just relax and start turning those lemons into lemonade. The best part of making lemonade? Sitting on a shady porch, relaxing, and sipping a cold glass. It makes the struggles well worth it.
