Lemonade Out Of Season
I hope that after this opening paragraph the members of the Beyhive hang on in here when they realize this blog is not an ode to their queen. Uh oh. I may have lost them after the first sentence. Nevertheless, for those that will survive, bring the beat in! LOL! Okay, here goes. I love Simply Lemonade. Wait. I love Simply products. Even though COVID-19 is causing pause in the earth, I am still as best as I can maintaining the stock in Simply. I especially love Simply Lemonade. It is a refreshing beverage that I enjoy early, in the noonday, the evening and occasionally in the midnight hour. It just tastes wonderful. But it doesn't start there, right? Lemons are sour. Even the thought of eating a lemon alone, without the enhancement of a sweetener of some sort makes our mouths pucker. But here we are, not in these streets, making lemonade at every turn. Despite the stay at home orders, the work, the ministry, the expectation of Christ is moving in the atmosphere, blessing people in unimaginable ways, and my hope is that we engage in the making of lemonade when we are delivered from this season.
While lemons produce that wonderful flavor that we appreciate in lemonade, and baked goods and over seafood, in its foundational state, it is an excellent source of vitamin C and packed with antioxidants, which help promote our well being. What if during this season, as believers, we are being tasked to minister to our well being? In what ways are we to become more familiar with prayer, and not just prayer for our home and our families and our connections, but for those whom we are in conflict with? To what extent might we expected to create worship experiences in our homes and not simply criticize the ones that we are tuned into? How might we curate space to read the Word of God and be just as excited about it, as the release of a new series on Netflix? What if God desires for us to cultivate our first ministry, which is in our homes and with our families as opposed to everyone externally to the our residence? While good for us, as lemons, the acidic properties associated with what I'm suggesting are not always pleasing to our earthly palette. Each of the aforementioned scenarios require a deeper harvesting of sorts, and it is far easier to engage in lemonade serving than ripen the lemons most tangibly available on the trees of our hearts and orchids of our mind.
Doing the hard work of ripening the lemons for the work that lies ahead is not easy. It takes little effort on my end to drink the lemonade, without regard for the process required beforehand. Saints, to be sure, it is beautiful to see the many ways that people are reaching out to one another. I have been blessed to witness check ins, by texts, phone calls and even virtually. I love seeing people extending offerings to pick up groceries and share what they have literally in their cupboards. The extension of grace for healthcare workers, grocery store attendants, truck drivers and restaurant and fast food operators is a blessing, but this time is also designed for us, individually to do the work of preparation for lemonade when this season has come to an end.
II Timothy 4:2 declares, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." This suggests that our time inside and away from our accustomed normal is uniquely designed beyond the virtual parties (I have enjoyed more than my share), Tik Tok creations (I ain't falling into this), Zoom meetings (send help please), cleaning out closets (lissen) and creating the next best (fill in the blank). What does our individual preparation resemble?! For me, it means resting in God. I need refueling. I require recalibrating. I am in desperate need of retooling. Sure I may be effective in serving some fairly good lemonade, but imagine lemonade better than Simply's version (God is that possible?! LOL), if I get my own lemons in order before I go deploying my sour and acidity all over God's people. The people are in need of what God desires to purpose in each of us.
As God spoke with me regarding this blog, He said, some of us simply (there it goes again) need to just sit down. We call ourselves doing His will, but in closer introspection, we may be doing more damage than good when we are unwilling to allow Him to deal with the parts of us, outlandishly resistant and deficient of the benefits that He provides daily. Sourness is not sustainable, neither for us or the people that God has called us to serve.
Who could have imagined our season of Lent playing out in the way that we are experiencing? Here we were, giving up sugar and social media and meat, while God instead offered us the opportunity to give up that which does not serve Him. Let us prepare by purposing ourselves to be vessels prepared in season and out of season. And in doing so, we are postured and positioned to serve humanity in a manner by which God gets maximum glory. Let's Listen, get ride of Ego and get in Formation to serve Lemonade, for all seasons. Holla at me Beyhive!