When life hands you lemons, get out the sweet tea!

I just got back from a two week vacation in the South and saw a sign that said, "When life gives you lemons, get out the sweet tea!" I love that sign and all that implies. Life is going to give you lemons. There will be incredibly sour moments that make you cringe and sometimes cry. But there is always sweet tea. At least in the South anyways! It's true though, my most painful moments are often met by some of the sweetest. Whether through the comfort of a friend, the embrace of a child, the faithful words of Scripture there is an underlying sweetness that if we can just see past the pain we'll find.

But it's not just the consistent gifts in our life that make lemons and sweet tea such a good combination. It's the fact that often through our darkest times we emerge more beautiful having been stripped of the dross that was holding us back and with a greater ability to see the beauty that was already surrounding us everyday. Somehow spending time in a dark place makes things in the light all the more bright, so that even the perfect colors the smog creates at sunset or sun shining through the lone tree in the city park become the most beautiful sights.

We often fight against pain, we resist vulnerability fearing that we'll be so weighed down we'll never emerge. But the truth is we will, the fog will lift and we'll see clearly again, the pain will ease and joy will flood in anew. So don't be afraid to open your heart, to take a risk, to walk away from someone or perhaps towards someone. You will get hurt and will even be the cause of hurt to others but there is beauty in the transforming work of God in our lives as we make ourselves vulnerable to Him and to one another. Open your heart and hands wide and allow the sweet and the sour to mix and make what only the two together can accomplish... the best darn glass of tea you ever had!