Let's start a lemonade stand

You've probably heard the old saying, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  We often don't have any control whatsoever over the things life brings us.  Things like accidents and illnesses are always unexpected and never welcome.  The only thing you have control of when you find yourself in one of life's valleys is your reaction to it.  Will you be consumed by it?  Will you be overwhelmed and destroyed by it?  Will you look for the way out or the way around?  Will you find some semblance of peace regardless of your circumstances?

I have been learning in my life that God has used the valleys, the dark times, to shape me into a better version of myself.  He has used the hard circumstances of life to sharpen my character.  I must have needed a lot of shaping and sharpening!  I know He's not done with me yet.

Refreshing!

When we found ourselves in the midst of our son's disorder, it was overwhelming at first. I felt like just rolling up into the fetal position and hiding away in a corner somewhere.  I didn't want to face it.  I didn't want it to be real.  I just wanted it to go away.  Once I realized that the situation was chronic and not curable, my attitude changed.  I began to understand that I had to stop feeling sorry for myself, pick myself up, dust myself off, and get moving.  I needed to start looking for a way out of the situation or at least a way around. 

I also began to realize that I needed to find the good, the silver lining in all of it.  I needed to stop worrying and wringing my hands about the situation and look for God in all of it.  Where was He?  What was He doing?  What was He trying to teach me?  What did He need me to do?  Now, I'm not saying that this was easy, or that it happened over night.  It took me a long time to take my laser like focus off myself and refocus it onto what God was doing.  I wanted to have peace despite my circumstances, but I also wanted to have a pity party too with myself as the "guest of honor."  It took time for God to work it out in me, but He really did help me find a way around for Christopher.  He helped me come to grips with the situation, accept it, and make lemonade out of those lemons after all.

LeAnne and Mike

One of the things Mike and I became acutely aware of was that we were no longer just the average family going about life in the usual fashion.  Our situation was unique and difficult.  It was BIG, and we needed to divide it up into bite sized pieces in order to manage it.  The three main categories were: money, interim child care for Michael and Ryan, and caring for Christopher (hospital duty). 

The best way to do this seemed to be to look at our strengths and weaknesses.  Mike had a strong  business mind, so we decided he would handle the money.  He was already working in the electronics industry, but he would also take over all the money issues for the family.  He made the money, paid the bills, and dealt with all retirement and insurance issues.  My strength was that I was good in a crisis, so it was decided that I would pull hospital duty.  I would deal with all the issues with Christopher's illness including general care, doctors appointments, and research.  I would also take care of Michael and Ryan full time when Christopher was not in the hospital.  We would have to rely on the goodness of others to help out with them when Christopher did require hospitalization. 

Mike and LeAnne

In a nut shell, we made a deal.   He took care of the money, and I took care of the kids.  It was the only way to manage our situation.  We both became effective in our respective roles, and it gave us some sense of control when the ever shifting winds of our predicament blew us in all different directions.  It worked great, and is still in effect today. 

Taking control of the things we could while abdicating control of the things we couldn't to almighty God, was how we found peace in a situation that could have easily tore our marriage and family apart.  With God's help and a lot of time, we learned to sip the sweet lemonade that we had made from the sour lemons that life had given us.

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...