Sunday, November 9, 2008

I See… Making Lemonade out of Lemons

WARNING: THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DIRTY POST. I’M GOING TO TALK ABOUT CRAP. WELL, I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT CRAP, BUT MY WIFE HATES THE WORD CRAP; SHE BELIEVES THAT “CRAP” IS A GUTTER WORD THAT SHOULDN’T BE USED IN HIGH-CLASS BLOGS LIKE THIS ONE. SO, I’LL USE ANOTHER WORD OTHER THAN CRAP. BLESS HER.


Enduring the challenges and trials of life, and letting them transform us into something better, is at the core of our human existence and an essential principle of God's plan for us. Elder James E. Faust taught that “In life we all have our times of testing and growth. These trials are necessary. They are growth experiences. Though they are times of deep anguish and suffering, they are also times to draw near to God. The suffering of the Savior in Gethsemane was without question the greatest that has ever come to mankind, yet out of it came the greatest good in the promise of eternal life.”


I know I’m supposed to make lemonade out of the lemons that grow in my path of life, but, of course, my Mormon Third Eye wants to view this dilemma from a different angle. What if I want to make something else out of my lemons, something more appetizing… say… lemon meringue pie? I could weather severe financial problems (lemons), and in the process learned how to be happy with a frugal, yet satisfying life (lemonade). However, like the popular financial management speaker Dave Ramsey, couldn’t I also weather severe financial problems (lemons), then make a buzillion dollars on the motivational speaker circuit inspiring others to do the same ? (lemon meringue). Or could I just take the easy road and weather severe financial problems (lemons) by reducing my debt load to a barely manageable level, which would be like chilling a lemon in the fridge for a few hours, then cramming a straw in it to create a tart, yet refreshing snack?


But what if life hands you something significantly worse than lemons… say… poop? You know, “brownies,” “caca,” “doo-doo,” “stinky loo-loos,” “number 2,” “packages,” etc. ” What are we expected to make out of that?


If you truly believe in the Lord’s promise to Moses repeated in Moses 6:63, “that all things have their alikeness, and all things are created and made to bbear record of me,” then even a substance as offensive as human waste can be turned into something beautiful. And so it is with the circle of life. Ironically enough, both credible scientific research and common sense has proven that substances rejected by the body as being harmful and poisonous, when processed properly, make some of the world’s cheapest, yet most productive fertilizer! And from fertilizer grows bounteous amounts of beautiful flowers and tasty treats!

The moral of the story is when life hands us lemons, make lemonade. However, if it hands us something significantly worse, like crap, er, I mean “number 2,” we have a lot a beautiful flowers to look forward to!

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