When life hands you lemons, __________________.

What would you fill in that blank with?

They might suggest:

?Make lemonade
?Salt the rim and handcraft a margarita
?Bake a pie
?Sell ‘em for profit
?Plant a lemon grove

All valid suggestions, but let’s be honest – sometimes life hands you lemons … and then cuts them open and squeezes them directly into your proverbial paper cut ? No mercy.

Sometimes life just hits ya’, and it can be daunting to think about simply “planting a lemon grove” (insert completely fake smile here) or even squeezing the lemon juice out and adding sugar for lemonade (insert exhausted, hopeless expression here – realizing you don’t even have sugar to add).

So, what are you supposed to do when the lemons are there, sliced and dripping into your paper cut?

Lean into God, of course – and I’ve found that so often He guides me to reach out to the friends He’s blessed me with!

?Don’t wallow in the hardness of what’s going on.
?Don’t pretend it’s not happening.
?Don’t sit back and wait for more.

Let your friends know what’s going on, and ask for their support. Let them hold you accountable to SPEAKING differently about your situation than perhaps reality would point you to. Let them call you out if they hear you complaining.

❤️True friends will listen, but they won’t let you get away with further cursing yourself by agreeing with the pain and having a pity party.
❤️True friends won’t even show up to a pity party because they know it’s not helping you at all.
❤️True friends will agree that it sucks, but they’ll help you walk through it vs. posting up there.

Life WILL hand you lemons, and you DO get to choose what to do with them. But knowing that it often happens when our defenses are lowest, I’ll encourage you to surround yourself with friends who love you enough to help you find your smile again!