My Homemade Lemonade Stand by Aj Luck
Thursday, May 12, 2016
You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. Psalm 59:17 NIV
I wasn’t expecting the fifty-pound bag of lemons that had recently dropped in my lap.
BAM!
A surprise weekend planned by my husband for our family to go out of town; turned into a sour situation fast.
Thursday evening we drove from Orlando to Jacksonville. The next morning while eating breakfast at the hotel, my phone rings. It was my dad. I thought it odd that he would call so early. I had planned on surprising him later that afternoon with a visit. He lives in the same town as we were in.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in the corner of a bathroom stall bawling my eyes out.
Stage four Cancer.
My dad was dying.
He had just gotten the call from his doctor.
As tears streamed down my face, I pleaded with God, asking Him why? Why did this have to happen? My dad and I reconciled only 10 months earlier. I had just said hello. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
After that, the days, miles and tears blended together.
I spent hours driving back and forth from town to town.
My step mom’s health was declining as well. I was now caregivers for not only my parents, but my family as well.
It was all happening so fast.
We went from home to emergency room to hospital to hospice all within a month.
I was asked to make decisions I didn’t want to make.
I was scared, angry, sad and overwhelmed and exhausted.
YET…
In the midst of all of the horrible chaos, there was a silent, sustaining strength coming from somewhere deep within.
During drives I’d play worship music. Other times, I’d hide in hospital bathrooms to allow liquid tears to briefly fall from my eyes.
I want to tell you everything worked out with a fairy tale happy ending. My dad is still hanging on, but I know his time is close. I know that I will see him again, but for now, everything seems so sad and bitter.
Instead of falling into a heap, I took the mountain of unexpected lemons and I opened up a lemonade stand. I decided to take this situation and share some refreshing truths with you…
Even in the hardest times of our lives, WE ARE NOT ALONE.
Jesus is with us. He will sustain us and give us strength and courage we never knew we had.
BREATHE. Inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Repeat.
Sometimes we need to take life one breath at a time. Moment by moment seems too fast.
Dear Jesus, sometimes life gets overwhelming fast. Sometimes the pain is almost unmanageable. Sometimes I’m too exhausted to pray. Sometimes my body is too exhausted to keep going. God, it is in these uncertain times that I’m grateful to know with every fiber of my being that You are there, holding me close. Thank You for being everything I need, when I can’t be who I know that I am. I love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© 2016 by Aj Luck. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Thursday, 12 May 2016.
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