Making Lemonade without Lemons
Hey there friends! I feel like this post has been a long time in coming. I also feel like I owe you some explanation. As I have been a bit all over the place. I want to share with you our story. I want to give you pieces of my heart and let you process life as I have over the past 10 years. The next few months I am going to take you on a journey through our story. I want to invite you to ask questions. Interact through comments, emails and messages. Let me know where you need more information and how I can guide you. I will not claim to be an EXPERT, but I will say that I have done a lot of research and learning over the last decade. I have had those moments where I had to find my own lemons to make lemonade with because life wasn’t even handing me that. But I can tell you this; through the deepest, darkest times, I have been able to find an even deeper joy than I can explain. So, I want to share with you what this “Find Joy Always” idea actually means.
I have always described JOY as something much deeper than the feelings of happiness you get from day-to-day events and activities. I was recently listening to a coaching call from Bob Heilig and he said the same exact thing – this is not a new theory, just one we forget about. So often we let our expectations of how life was “supposed” to go get in the way of our joy. Those unmet expectations are quick to steal our happiness sure, but our joy…why? Let’s be honest with ourselves for a second and answer this question: How was/is life “supposed” to go?
Is there actually an answer for that? I know we all have hopes and dreams and WANT life to go a certain way. But ultimately, is there an actual road map that says your life is supposed to “go this way or no way at all.” I mean, that is a lot of expectations for something that has a ton of moving parts!
So, here’s the thing, here’s my little gem for you. When life has no lemons to give and it seems like nothing can be made into lemonade, go find some lemons for yourself! You see, if we are in the midst of the worst times in our life, it is there that we will grow and become stronger. There we learn how to be a crutch for others in their times of need. It is there that our faith, our joy, our very existence is made stronger! If you can FIND JOY ALWAYS…even without lemons to make lemonade, then your satisfaction with the unmet expectations of life will be a treasure to all those in your world.
Hear me though, “finding joy always” does not mean you cannot morn a dream shattered or a hope lost. What it DOES mean is this. When all hope is lost and dreams seem like figments of your imagination, you find the courage to be grateful for what IS. If you don’t have a job, but you have family: grateful. If you don’t have great health, but you have a roof over your head: grateful. If you have been working towards parenting for the last 5 years and the heartbeat monitor won’t pick up that tiny little blip, but you have a spouse who is walking that path with you: grateful.
There is NO guarantee that life will go as planned, but there is ALWAYS something we can be grateful for, and as long as we are grateful and thankful, no one can steal our joy.
