When Life Gives You Lemons . . .and Strawberries, and Chicken Legs, and Carrots
As I have written previously, my husband and I have been blessed with a joyful baby boy this past year. He is currently in the transitioning stage from breastmilk to solid foods. To say mama is having all the feelings is an understatement. Happy he is growing and doing so well, sad that a sweet stage is ending, excited for the next chapter, anxious about the next phase, and so on and so on.
We have recently begun our baby-led weaning experience. This is where you give your infant solid foods, just like you would eat, but in appropriate shapes and sizes. And boy, does our son love food! It is amazing watching him enjoy foods for the first time and how God designed his body and mind to figure out exactly what to do. I initially had anxiety about this stage, but I have come to enjoy it and cheer him on when he tries new things. He recently gnawed on a chicken leg, a piece of bacon, and a slab of steak and his life was changed forever.
Just as I want to help my child and see him succeed, God wants the same for you (Psalm 37:4). As much as I love my child, God loves His children more. Motherhood has shown me how much you can love your child and has given me a new understanding for how God loves us, his children.
“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
-Psalm 37:4
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, those who have been called according to purpose (Romans 8:28). This does not mean we will not endure hardship. It means God wants to equip us to endure every joyful and painful moment in life, and inevitably will learn from those moments and rely ever more on him.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
-Romans 8:28
As of right now, my son is taking on actual lemons with a hearty appetite and funny faces. When he gets older, and confronts figurative lemons in life, I hope my husband and I have helped to provide him the tools to recognize how to press on in resilience and rely on God who loves him (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:16, 1 John 4:9).
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
-Romans 5:8
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
-1 John 4:16
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
-1 John 4:9
When life gives you lemons, I hope you lean on Jesus and trust in him. I hope you can take it on with Godly wisdom and a positive attitude. This I pray over you today, reader.