When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!

I love lemons! I love their bright, cheery yellow color, their interesting oval shape and tangy taste in my ice tea. While lemons are associated with something negative in life, in reality they are powerhouses for bringing out the flavor of other foods and providing the major health benefits of Vitamin C. Lemons are not all bad; in reality they are extremely good for us.

What do you think of when you think of lemons? Ice tea? Lemon meringue pie? Lemon squares? No matter how you serve lemons they are loaded with antioxidant flavonoids that have powerful anti-cancer properties which neutralize free radicals and stop the division in many cancer cell lines.

As a source of vitamin C they help develop a strong immune system, reduce the systems of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, fight cancer and help prevent risk of death from heart disease, stroke and cancer. So lemons, though sour, are a sweet deal after all. What a sweet benefit!

Is it possible that the lemons that come into our lives may actually have a purpose and benefit? Could it be that they help bring out the flavor of life? The negative experiences help us to be grateful for the positive things in our lives. For instance, if it never rained we wouldn’t have flowers, grass or crops. The rain is necessary so it can’t be sunny all the time. The lemon experiences contrast with the sweet experiences in a way that accentuates their blessing.

Lemons in life are just life. It’s what we do with them that make the difference. If you squeeze the lemons you can make lemonade or lemon desserts. In life, experiencing the negative aspects and processing the pain, grieving the losses is a way of squeezing our lemon. Instead of stuffing it whole and getting life-indigestion; we squeeze the lemon in life thereby experiencing the sourness of the situation but also reaping its benefits. We can find a purpose for the negative things that come our way in life. There may be lessons to be learned, flesh to be killed, or grace to be grown. Joseph’s pit and prison eventually positioned him in the palace to save the nation of Israel. Paul’s thorne in the flesh made him depend on the Lord all the more.

A lemon can sit on the shelf or stay in the refrigerator, but until we get it out and cut it open and squeeze it into our drink, on our fish, or in our salad we are not tasting its wonderful flavor or reaping its health benefits. We can complain that we got a lemon when we wanted a tangerine but it won’t do any good. Toxins will be released in our system from stressing out about the lemon. Negative attitudes will infect others and bring them down. Our complaining will actually keep us from enjoying the other positives in our lives.

Instead, let’s make lemonade, or whatever other wonderful lemon dessert you enjoy! Rename that lemon – lemonade! Your perception alone will turn the lemons in life into something enjoyable and profitable! Pass the lemon, please.