Making Sweet Tea

Hopefully by now you have realized that when my life gets busy, my blogs become scarce.  It has been one crazy month.  Almost everything that could have happened did happen.  Sometimes it felt like what ever I touched, looked at, or thought about broke or turned out wrong.  There were days that I wanted to literally throw in the towel and call it quits.  But then the still small voice kept telling me to keep going.  I took a deep breath and pushed myself even further.  My tears are not a sign of weakness, but a release of my own control.

If nothing else, this month has taught me patience and increased my faith.  It has brought my family closer together and made us a stronger unit.  The old saying is "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  Well I say, when lemons are thrown at you, add sugar to your tea and make it sweet.  Trust me, it will all make sense in a minute.

Lemons are usually pretty to see, bitter to taste, and firm to touch.  God's discipline is firm, may leave a bitter taste, but comes from a loving place.  When we do things that are not in God's will, he has to discipline us.  We will not learn from our mistakes if there are no consequences for our actions.  Likewise, God also disciplines us to teach us and test us.  If we say we are going to do something, He wants to make sure we stick to our word.  If we say we believe that God can deliver us, heal us, and free us, we have to be willing to undergo a transformation.  That transformation will not come without a storm or two or three.  Faith without works is dead. 

From experience, there were times that I literally could not see past the lemons.  Then it occurred to me.  Job had every lemon you could think of thrown at him.  Yet he survived.  If you read the book of Job, you will see that not once did he curse God.  He did not blame others for his trials and struggles.  He continued to praise God and look to the hills for his help.  Despite all of the nay-sayers (including his wife), he pressed on. 

Now you ask, where does the sugar come from?  The sugar is your faith.  How much you put in your tea is determined by the strength of your faith.  I like my tea (even though I don't drink tea) sweet.  The sugar will over power the lemons and make your tea all the better tasting.  Our life is our tea.  You cannot have faith without having it tested every now and then.  People and things will try your patience and test your faith, but God's favor will help you surpass it all. 

The next time you feel down and out, grab a bucket and start catching lemons.  And when your bucket is full and you cannot support it anymore, call on the Lord.  He will give you a bigger bucket and hold you up.  After all is said and done, relax knowing that God has everything under control and enjoy your sweet tea.