How Do We Age Gracefully, When Life Deals Us Lemons?
(Do we make lemonade, or do we dwell in the bitterness of the fruit)
By Sister Vanessa Alexander
Life. What a precious gift! Each day we are allowed to see the rising sun, we must acknowledge it as a blessing that we are among the chosen. When I look over my life and see how God has kept, molded, cleansed, polished and is shaping me, I can’t help but say, “Thank you God!” These last six month have brought me heartache, disappointment, discontentment, the feeling of disconnect, rejection, loneliness, powerlessness, I can name so much more that I’ve felt, but God did not allow those feelings to grip me.
My daughter left the nest and went off to college. I received the final paperwork for my divorce. For a week and half I lost the ability to walk independently without assistance on one leg, and sadly, doctors could not diagnose what was wrong with me. It seemed I was sick with a cold or virus every other week. People you love turned their backs on you. I was called names outside of my given name. I’ve seen things done to people I love that I have no control over (frustrating). What? How can I handle these incredible attack of lemons that are coming my way. God I need you, this is just too much to handle, and it seem they were everywhere. Isaiah 41:10 reminded me, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
I celebrated another birthday earlier this month, and realized those sour lemon will exist as long as I allow them to control my life. I accepted the fact that my daughter wants a better life for herself, and I’ve ask God to cover her and protect her. As I’ve handed her over to Him for His guidance, I am seeing success in her life. When no one else knew the answer to why I was experience such debilitating pain in my foot, I took it to God, asked God for healing, and allowed the pray warriors to pray for me. Doctors still don’t know what was wrong, but I am walking. When I acknowledged a long time ago that I’ve done all that I can and God is the pilot in my life, no paperwork can define me. When I see the hurt of my loved ones and feel there is nothing I can do, I take it to God in prayer – after all He is the author and finisher of our lives, the Alpha and Omega, the A to Z, the blesser and burden bearer. As He says in Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” When I fully understand that God is working in every area of my life, the plan He has for my life can never fail. How much more grace do I want than knowing God is all around me.
I am thankful for all of God’s blessings, protection, covering, His indescribable and incomprehensible love, guidance, doors He has opened, ways He has made, for keeping my mind and body under subjection and in His will, and for wording my mouth. I’ve decided according to God’s plan I will make my lemonade with elegance, while God refines me, in His loveliness and beauty. Because of Jesus I am alive today. I can look beyond the gloom, pain, and disappointment of today and look to the future, knowing that God has everything under control and nothing that happens to me is without God’s approval.
God is the reason I can smile when life is less than perfect, He gives me strength to walk when life’s path is steep and full of bumps and turns. God is the one I turn too. He care about me, intervenes on my behalf, He is at work in me, through me and for me, and I just want to tell someone what an awesome God we serve. God promised me in His word Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” I will stand on His promise as I continue to perfect my lemonade.