Most of us have heard the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well that's fine and good when it's lemons. Lemons are small, easy to slice and clean up. But what if life gives you something else?
Life gave me a great big cantaloupe recently. It was bad enough that I got thrown this big melon, but before I could make anything out of it, like cute little melon balls or crisp rectangular slices, life threw something else at me.What?
A watermelon. Matter of fact, it came flying through my house within thirty minutes of the cantaloupe.
Let me tell you what I didn't do with my watermelon. I didn't carve it into a tea cup and fill it with fresh fruit and crown it with Tinkerbell, or carve it in the shape of a sand bucket and fill it with starfish shaped melons. Nor did I carve out a pirate ship adorned with pirate flags, a crow's nest holding a pirate Lego man, and sails made out of watermelon rind. (Yes, I looked at Pinterest. Where else would I get these crazy ideas?!!!).
I didn't make a watermelon smoothie either. But what I did was grab the watermelon and hold on for dear life. God knew I needed something large to take hold of as I tried to make sense of what was going on in my life.Sound familiar? Do you sometimes wonder why the big things like watermelons hit you and your family while other people only get a few lemons, or maybe a grape or two thrown their way?
I have to honestly say I didn't get around to asking this question. The reason being is I was too busy carting around my own heavy watermelon. It was so heavy I had to rely on others to help me. And they did help . . . most of the time. But when I was alone at night, cuddled up to my watermelon during sleepless nights, that's when God made His presence known to me. Not only did He make His presence known . . .
- He gave me rest when I couldn't put another foot in front of the other.
- He gave me peace when decisions, responsibilities, and fear of the unknown overwhelmed me.
- He gave me understanding when the "WHY?" questions would crowd my thoughts.
- He gave me hope when days and nights ran together.
- He gave me strength when I was at my weakest.
- He gave me love that held me in a way no one else could.
What was my cantaloupe you ask?
My husband having to have out-patient neck/spine surgery after weeks at home in the bed while experiencing great pain.
Oh, and my watermelon?
Bringing him home from the out-patient neck/spine surgery only for him to have a heart attack within thirty minutes of getting him settled. That watermelon came flying through my house before I could even get settled with the cantaloupe.
After a ride in an ambulance, hours of waiting in the ER, 10 days in the hospital, a heart cath and then quadruple by-pass surgery we came home again . . . watermelon in tow, as we prepared for weeks of recovery.
But we're doing it. Neither the cantaloupe nor watermelon caught God by surprise. He has been faithful to see us through the most difficult days and nights. And, with each day the watermelon is getting lighter, for I'm learning to let God carry the weight of my troubles.
So the next time life gives you lemons, cantaloupes, or watermelons and they come spiralling through your kitchen window, remember God is in control. He knew what was coming and will help you.
My prayer is that you will allow God to be your helper, for He "is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psa. 46:1 NASB).
Now, where did I see that cute watermelon carving of a flower pot with cute little flowers made out of pineapples, grapes and strawberries. I hope I didn't forget to pin it . . .
all photos courtesy of morguefile.com
