Lemonade and Silver Linings



Pic compliments of Jen Theo

 TCC commented on my grouchy post yesterday, "...and this is real life. We take the great with the not-so-much-fun.

It's a gift to be able to make lemonade out of lemons but it's also important sometimes to find a place of solitude wherein you can sip that lemonade at a soft, quiet pace...and maybe even have a chat with a friend."

I read the comment and sighed, "yep, she understands it." Oh and what I wouldn't give for a quiet retreat in the mountains sipping lemonade or coffee or anything, with a friend like her. She gets what I am saying, and so do all of you.

This is part of enjoying the journey of life, admitting when you are having a cruddy day. To be honest, I don't care for the often said lines, such as

making lemons out of lemonade
find the silver lining
a Pollyanna outlook

Mostly because I think about the fact that I want authentic true joy in the journey of life. I don't want to be what the rest of the world is just trying to conjure up. And TCC, I know you know what I mean here!

The point of enjoying the journey is recognizing that you really do have bad days, bad moments, bad thoughts, bad actions. C'mon we all do. It's what we do with all of those bad boys, that makes or breaks our eternal outlook on life.

Last week, one of our pastors spoke about being purified. He explained the process of purifying gold, the dross, the fire, the skimming off of junk, and going back into the fire. I've heard many messages on being purified. I started realizing a long time ago, that this is life, we will go through the fire often. As I listened to the main a new revelation began to evolve the purity of who we really are is revealed at the end, when we are standing before God. Do I smell a goal, here?

Yesterday I felt irritable and was secretly wishing for a vacation from my kids. This morning I woke up feeling physically miserable and wishing for a vacation from my body. But my spirit?? It's been waking up regularly to this feeling of excitement and wonder. I want to stand before God pure and beautiful. I want Him to shine a light on me and not still see a ton of junk stained inside of me.

Being real, with myself, with my friends, and especially with my God gives me the ability to enjoy life. Dealing with hurts, difficulties, walking through fire, is just as important as declaring the exciting parts of life too.