The saying goes that when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. I have heard that phrase so many times, and in many instances of my life “making lemonade” comes quite naturally and easily; yet I find that sometimes “making lemonade” just doesn’t seem possible with the lemons that have been given. The question I can find myself asking, is what do you do with the curve balls that life throws at you and how do you continue to place your trust in God’s plan that you do not fully understand and is still unfolding?
As many of you know I love music. I enjoy playing guitar in my free time and I would like to say that I am a relatively decent singer. When I was in middle school and high school I was a part of the band program and I played the french horn for 7 years. I would have continued into college but affording my own french horn was impossible at the time so instead, I picked up ukulele and eventually taught myself guitar. What I found in music is that a song has the potential to lift us out of ourselves, and in many cases place us before the Lord. Music has the ability to allow His voice to ring out more clearly in our lives. This was ever the case when a dear friend of mine recently sent me the song “Praise before my Breakthrough” by Bryan and Katie Torwalt. I had just spent time in the chapel in front of the tabernacle trying to piece together the recent events of my life. Trying to glean from the Lord a better understanding of why things had happened, and I found myself leaving the chapel frustrated and empty handed. As I pulled into my apartment complex I was sent this song:
“I know the tension of the now. I don’t always understand. I don’t always get to see everything. When I am holding up my hands. When I am counting every breath. Lord all I need to know is you chose me...I’ll praise before my breakthrough. Til my song becomes my triumph. I will sing because I trust you. I will bring my heart….”
God never promised us a life without suffering. He never promised us a life that would always be easy. But what He did promise was that He would be with us through every step. He actively and consciously chooses us at every moment. Yet despite this knowledge that we are chosen, that He will be with us through it all; it can be very easy in the tough moments to forsake the understanding we already have in search of what we think we need to understand. When control is out of our grasp, when understanding eludes us, and hopelessness starts to settle in; it can be easy to forget that we have been chosen, that we are loved, and that we don’t have to understand it all. It can be easy to sink down into despair, looking at a lost battle in life, and forget that the war has already been won. However, if we fix our gaze upon Christ, if we make Him our everything, we can choose to praise Him regardless of having a breakthrough of understanding. Our lives can become a triumph despite the suffering that may fill them. Our trust in the Lord can be the foundation on which we build our lives and will see us through any storm that may come our way.
My friends, the enemy wants us to lose hope. He wants us to buy into the lie that the Lord isn’t for us, that His plan cannot possibly be good. If there is one thing you can hold steadfast in, it is that you are loved. You don’t need to understand it all, you don’t have to have everything figured out, as much as you may want to. The truth of the matter is that God has chosen YOU for a very specific purpose. His plan for your life will lead you to greatness; will lead you to ultimate happiness. You will face hardship in life, things might not always be easy, but God is victorious. So when life gives you lemons, when it seems like all hope is lost, choose to praise the Lord. Choose Him in those moments of suffering and allow your fears and doubts to be cast onto His cross. Seek Him in the Eucharist, allow Him to nourish and give you strength for the journey ahead. I promise that when you do, your life will reveal His triumph, and with God as your everything, nothing the world can throw at you will keep you from the greatness He has created you for.