When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Pie



Coiurtesy of Wikimedia

We’ve all experienced it—that thing or things that bring us down. Maybe it’s a health problem, the loss of a loved one, a broken heart, or disappointment at work or home. Whatever life-lemons you are handed it can be very hard to see the sweeter side of the problem.

There’s a lovely elderly lady in our church who has dementia. She’s at the stage where she knows she’s not remembering things. She can’t cook anymore because she can’t remember whether or not she’s added an ingredient, and most of the time she can’t remember the recipes she once knew by heart. We often eat supper with her after church and she sometimes can’t remember what she ordered. The ladies at the table watch out for her to make sure she gets the right drink and meal.

Dementia is one of the scariest diseases I know, yet Laurie (named changed to protect her) faces this disease smiling, joking about it even. The other day when I ran into her at the local diner, I asked her how she was. “Fine,” she said with a broad smile. Then she laughed and added, “If I was doing bad I wouldn’t remember it anyway. Might as well be fine.”

Lauri has been handed a big pile of lemons, pretty sour ones, yet somehow she’s found the recipe to make a sweet lemon pie from the awful thing that is happening to her. One of the ingredients she’s using to make her lemons more palatable is humor.

Science tells us that laughter is good for us. Not only does it trigger the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers, laughter can increase your overall sense of well-being. Research has found that people who have a positive outlook on life tend to fight diseases better than people who tend to be more negative. Laughter can reduce stress hormones, lower your blood pressure, and even work your abs. If you’ve ever had a spell of uncontrollable laughter, the kind that puts you into tears, you know what I’m talking about.

The Bible also addresses the need for us to laugh and be happy, calling a merry heart “good medicine.”( Prov. 17:22 ) When Job’s friends came to cheer him up, they said, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.” (Job 8:21), indicating that God would cheer Job up once again and that He is with us even in the lowest parts of our lives. Psalm 118:24 even commands us to be happy, saying. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Sometimes it’s hard to see the joy in a bad situation, and a good laugh won’t cure all your ills. But if, like my friend Laurie, when you can see the humor in spite of the pain—make a lemon pie from the sour hand you’ve been dealt, you may be able to find the joy and contentment in whatever situation you find yourself in.

Psalms 16: 8-11 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

So, the next time life hands you lemons, try making a sweet pie with it. Believe me, it will taste much better than the bitterness of sorrow or anger.

 

 

About the Author:

Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, watching movies, and the theatre. In the winter she quilts and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place is in her garden. She’s a passionate gardener who won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. 

Catherine loves using humor in her books. Her multi-award-winning inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing, as well as her new romantic comedy with a touch of drama (also from Soul Mate Publishing) have both been called humorous, fun-to-read stories. The Nun and the Narc,  an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award, is available at Amazon, as is her most recent release, A Groom for Mama,

 

In her sweet romantic comedy, A Groom for Mama, Mama uses humor and a positive attitude to deal with her troubles. She also isn’t above playing the scheming Cupid in order to get her daughter married to the right man. A string of disastrous dates, a search for a cancer treatment, and a hunt for a bridegroom bring Allison dangerously close to the last man she ever wants to marry. Or does she?