Is Rick Warren Making Lemonade?

I don’t think so.

Make lemonade. Get back in the saddle. Be optimistic, it can’t get any worse. Pray, God hears.

Do I believe what I’m writing? Right now I do. Tomorrow, or later today, or even an hour from now I might be feint at heart. I’m scared of being so hurt again that I wish it were a nightmare (daymare?). I’d wake up and it wouldn’t be so.

The reality is- life hurts.

I will be fifty-six years old in less than a month. I have four beautiful children, thirteen beautiful grandchildren and a wonderful husband.

Can I remember an absolutely wonderful, joyful day? One without a cloud—or a thunderstorm, or a train wreck? Only a few.

But I battle major depressive disorder. I think of Rick Warren’s son Matthew and the pain that not only he suffered, but also the pain of his loved ones who witnessed his battle. Those loved ones could not fix his pain. And they are being ridiculed for having faith in God, whose timing is not ours, nor is He accountable to us for His plan for our lives.

Let me revisit that question. Can I remember an absolutely wonderful, joyful day? Yes. The one when I accepted God’s gift and Jesus’ blood that assures those of us who accept Him a future of hope.

Aside from my inherited depressive disorder, the problems that haunt my life are “children” related. Nothing can hurt parents more than seeing their children live with the consequences of the bad choices they’ve made. If those children could see clearly- they would understand that their decisions have affected many innocents along the way. Not that even that clarity would change their ways in many cases.

If we look at the parents whose children are suffering from illnesses–we, the parents of the unwise, would be grateful for the opportunity of choice. We have the choice to “fix” our wayward children’s mistakes. The parents of the innocent sick have prayer only.

We should look at that. When we “fix”, it provides another opportunity for another bad choice and another hurt down the road. This makes us parents the unwise.

But when we pray for God’s will to be done, He who sees our future will do what He alone knows will ultimately bring about the final fix. A loving Father who wants the best for us all will answer. He wants the final fix to be salvation and the hope of a future with Him. He’s provided a road of perfection for us to travel in heaven. It is not broken.

I’m hurting today. So I’ll pray. I won’t make lemonade or get back in the saddle. But I will change my attitude and be optimistic because God doesn’t make promises He doesn’t keep.

And I know -that I know -that I know—He will deliver us, if we accept Jesus, from this life of pain. In His time.

Thank you, Lord.