Lemons and Lemonade

By Kathi Macias –

“When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Okay, I get it. Don’t cry over spilled milk and all that—just clean up the mess and find a way to make something good out of it. Before you know it, those tears might just turn into laughter, right?

Right. Seriously! It happens.

We’ve been going through a really tough time lately—walking my almost 90-year-old mother through the last of her days/weeks/months (years?) on earth before bidding her farewell when she goes home at last. It’s the cry of her heart to leave this world and “graduate” to heaven, as she so longs to see her Savior and be reunited with loved ones who have gone ahead of her—particularly my dad. In fact, she says that’s one of the most difficult things of living so long: you soon find that nearly everyone your own age has already checked out! On the positive side (making lemonade again!), you don’t have to deal with peer pressure.

Mom lived with us for almost eleven years before we realized we could no longer care for her. She needed someone with her 24/7, and we simply couldn’t do it. We visited a lot of nursing and private care homes before deciding on an assisted living facility within fifteen minutes of our home. It’s a lovely place with delightful people and gorgeous grounds. Mom has her own private room, which we decorated with many of her personal things, and yet she still has the care she needs. It’s ideal!

But every now and then we’re reminded that we won’t find “perfect” until we get to heaven. It happened to me the other day when I went to visit Mom. I was walking down the hallway toward her apartment, thrilled that we had found such a nice place for Mom, when I heard a voice behind me mumbling, “It’s so hot in here! Why do they keep it so hot in this place? And where is my apartment?”

Uh oh. I asked myself if I should turn around or just keep walking. I made the wrong choice. I turned around and there, heading straight toward me, was a woman who had no doubt marked a minimum of eighty years on this planet—and was as naked as a jaybird! Her clothes were strewn along the hallway behind her where she had apparently tossed them in an attempt to escape the “heat” as she searched for her home.

A couple of phone calls quickly confirmed that she was a new arrival who had managed to “escape” her apartment (they are now working on getting her moved to the dementia wing) and had no idea how to find her way back—or even where “home” was.

I know. That really isn’t funny, though the incident did cause a few chuckles among the other residents who are now being much more careful to keep their doors locked, since apparently the “happy wanderer” had stopped into their places while seeking her own.

I couldn’t help thinking of that precious woman when I sat with my mother at the Sunday afternoon church service held at the facility each week. There are several hundred residents there, but only about thirty or forty who avail themselves of the chance to come together for corporate worship. (Some ride the van to their own churches, but many others do not, and each has the opportunity to come downstairs to join in.) Is it possible that at least some of those who don’t attend are as spiritually naked and lost as the woman I saw in the hallway that day? At least she was making an effort to find her way home; how many of the others have no idea where “home” really is—and they’re running out of time!

Makes me that much more determined to make lemonade out of lemons! Moving my mom into the assisted living facility has been difficult, but it has opened a new door for ministry—both for her and for me when I visit. We are determined to make a difference there and to walk in such a way as to light the way home for all those who are lost and homesick…even if they don’t know it.

Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com; www.thetitus2women.com) is an award-winning author of more than 30 books, including her upcoming April release, People of the Book, the final installment of the Extreme Devotion series from New Hope Publishers.

The Other Side

By Lori Freeland –

My eighth grader slumps at the kitchen table, his mouth curving down into his frustration frown, as I leaf through his unfinished homework.

Tears fill his eyes. “Dad didn’t help me while you were gone. He played Wii every night.”

Heat rises from my chest, up my neck. Settles into my face. My, “What?” comes out a strangled half cry-half scream as I lunge for my cell. Before my hand touches the phone, a small voice breaks through my fury.

Wait.

Wait?

Wait an hour.

Are You crazy, Lord? An hour will douse the flame of my anger. In an hour, I will forget all the nasty, witty accusations forming in my head.

Have you considered the other side?

There’s another side?

His side.

Hmm. I ponder that. Just a little. Because right now, my side screams at me to run off on a tirade of what did not get accomplished this last week while I was on my girl’s only cruise. The cruise my friend, Gwyn, dubbed our chickation.

I don’t want to remember that he encouraged me to go. Crying and carrying on about how I feel punished for taking this time for myself seems a better idea. I want to throw the unfinished homework at my husband when he comes through the door while I yell about the unopened emails pertaining to the week’s activities. Like the basketball team photos my daughter missed.

Remember, the other side.

I have spent the better part of my life as half of a whole, married to the same man, for twenty years. Throughout our many conflicts, the other side lurks. Just waiting for my attention. I don’t like to listen. In the center of my frustration and anger, looking at the other side means letting go of my own hurt and resentment.

Take my chickation. I don’t want to remember my husband taking our children to a movie on Monday just to hang out with them on his day off. I don’t want to admit he forgot the basketball game and team pictures because he cleaned the house as a welcome home present. For me. I don’t want to think about how he changed the sheets on our bed on Friday, in honor of my clean sheet fetish, and slept on the couch to keep them fresh for my return on Saturday. Or that he made a special trip to Central Market to concoct a fabulous dinner while I unpacked.

I want to keep my anger. And if I think about how he not only paid for my weeklong chickation, but also encouraged me to have a good time while he took on all my jobs for the week in addition to his own, I can’t keep my anger.

During my wedding, I recited Corinthians 13:4-5. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

Hmmm. Is not easily angered.

The other side. His side. I allow myself to think about the good and release the bad. I don’t even need to wait the hour. Suddenly, I don’t feel like making that phone call. I think I’ll wait until he gets home, wrap my arms around him, and whisper thank you in his ear instead.

Movie Star In the Making

By Sherri Holbert –

What did you want to be when you were growing up? Did you want to be a fireman, a princess, the President of the United States, an astronaut? Are you living that dream today? I wanted to be a movie star. As adults, most of us can’t see ourselves on the big screen, as a fireman, leading our country, sprinkling fairy dust, or making a trip to the moon.

But in childhood we have a zillion grand things we’d like to be. As we grow and develop, we change our minds and learn new things that appeal to us. God provides us with new experiences that shape who we are and what we are to become. God also puts nuggets of dreams and hopes inside of us but many times we don’t live out these dreams because of fear.

Fear is why my name is not on the big screen in your hometown. I let others talk me out of my dream. They said, “You’ll never make it. The odds aren’t good. You can’t make a decent living. You’ll be a waitress to supplement your acting career.” I let fear allow me to change career paths but God still had a plan for me. He was equipping me for my future “movie star” role.

I have come to realize I am the movie star in my own life! I can produce my own script. I can be a star who inspires others and helps them reach their dreams—maybe not from the big screen but from a local community stage, in a conversation with my girlfriends, or as a life coach willing to motivate and encourage others to overcome fear and follow the dreams God has put in their hearts.

God has equipped us for whatever star role we decide to pursue. He gives us skills, knowledge and strengths to help us live out our dreams. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Will you be obedient to God’s script for your life?  What are you waiting for?

PRAYER: God, thank You for being the Screen Director of my life and equipping me with a Grammy-winning script that inspires and motivates others.

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV).

This devotion is by Sherri Holbert, a life coach, author and co-founder of Walk of Purpose Ministries. Her study, DIVAS of the Divine:  How to Live as a Designer Original in a Knock-Off World guides you through setting a step-by-step plan in place to help you accomplish the changes you want to make in your life. Learn more at www.walkofpurpose.com

Do I Have To?

By Cheri Cowell –

I don’t know what it is about children, but they all seem to be wired from birth with that same phrase. I’m sure you can hear the whine in that question, and if you are like me, you can picture yourself standing before your parents as you pleaded your case. If our parents let us get away with that too many times, we probably learned the pattern well and carry it with us today. Maybe not in the same tone or with the same childlike flair, but it is still there. Perhaps it looks more like a roll of the eyes, a big sigh, or maybe a digging in of your heels when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do. Maybe you label such a person as a nagger, without regard to your own shortcomings. I have to admit I am guilty of all these things. Why do we do this and what is our solution? The Bible offers the answer in today’s passage.

Don’t get caught up in the customs of endowments and polygamy presented in this story. Instead, focus on the heart of Jacob. When he was asked what his wages for working on Laban’s land should be, Jacob requested Rachel’s hand in marriage in return for seven years of labor. Do you focus more easily on the work to be done or the reward to be given for work well done? When Jacob discovered he had been tricked, he was angry, and rightfully so. Yet, instead of taking revenge, he agreed to work another seven years to rightfully earn Rachel as his wife. When we are wronged, it is okay to get angry, but then we must decide to make the situation right. If you tend to blame others instead of looking at your own responsibility in the situation, take a lesson from Jacob and fix your eyes on the bigger prize. It will help the decisions you must make a little easier to handle.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the prize You offer that is bigger than any obstacle I may face here on earth. Help me focus on that heavenly reward and not on the work to be done. Help me acknowledge Jacob’s lesson by allowing myself to get angry when someone has wronged me, but to then quickly turn my eyes toward the reward.

“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?’ Laban replied, ‘It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.’ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years” (Genesis 29:25-30 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. Her first book, Direction: Discernment for the Decisions of Your Life, is called a biblically grounded no-nonsense approach to decision-making. To order your copy or to learn more about Cheri, visit her website www.CheriCowell.com

An Off Brand Life

By Heather Allen –

Can I tell you what I want from life? Do you have a minute to pull up a chair? I want a smallish house with beautiful plants surrounding it and a roof made of shakes. Smells wafting from the kitchen that welcome visitors and make them want to stay for the cookies in the oven; sounds of kids laughing, with me straining to hear all the ridiculously cute things they are saying. Permanence: same house, same garden, new friends are okay, same grocery store, same streets. But ah, it seems that it is not to be.

My heart feels a little tattered tonight, like a rag flappin’ out on the line.

At age 13 I told my mom I did not want an ordinary life. How I wish I could go back and muzzle that big-mouthed girl. There is enough adventure in books. Fictional characters do not lay awake at night worrying about their kids adjusting.

So here I am another house in another state, but thankfully a little closer to those I love best. Yet I feel my life is an itchy sweater with seams that keep twisting up my body. The tag at the neck is driving me to distraction: it’s fixating. I cannot breathe right, I do not feel right, but I just keep yanking at that tag. It is easier than learning to live with it, or around it.

If God put His hand on my head my whole body would probably still be squirming. There is only one conversation I am looking to have but He keeps bringing me back to where we started “Set your heart on pilgrimage”.

I do not like being a pilgrim, and it doesn’t strike me as a very family friendly lifestyle.   My mind spins and forms an extensive list of questions, so I read the book of Job. He had questions about his life. It started well, but not even halfway through the first chapter he starts a downhill spiral. I am a bit dramatic, but I can relate to his confusion and his longing for some answers.

At the heart of my conflicted life lies a deep desire to see the extraordinary, even if it means traveling to the ends of the earth. So I will endeavor to set my heart on pilgrimage. Believing a God whose knowledge spans beginning to end, I will learn to trust.  He left His home to save me; I can leave mine too.

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Job 42:5 (NIV)

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” Psalms 84:5 (NIV)

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