When my late husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, the future quickly became unclear. Howard and I had been married for only seven years. Our adventures in marriage, parenting, and ministry were just beginning! As the shock of our diagnosis waned and the reality of life's new normal settled upon us, we traveled these experiences differently. I sought knowledge. He sought answers. I sought people. He sought privacy. I became stoic. He became sad. Our hearts, however, continually sought comfort and counsel from God and each other. 

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The unexperienced pace at which life changed due to this uninvited third member of our marriage left us reeling. Our commitment was challenged by unchanged. We fought to remain steadfast to God by studying His Word and spending time in prayer. We did not surrender our commitment to one another by allowing overwhelming challenges to distract us. Above all, we protected our children. Our greatest desire was for our treasures to follow us as we followed Jesus in every circumstance.  We did not want Cooper, Alexa, our soon-to-arrive Elizabeth to become victims of circumstances beyond their control.

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We steadfastly lived in private what we professed in public by actively trusting God with all our hearts instead of with all our emotions.  When we did not understand, which was often, we did not lean on our inability to make sense of things.  Instead, we believed God and behaved like we were His children. In our decisions we looked toward Him and remained faithful when our minds pulled us in other directions.

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Our children leaned that life does not make sense, is sometimes painful, and often confusing.  The example we provided to them modeled that life does not have to be perfect to be beautiful.  Our family

learned how to stay sweetly in love with Jesus when life turns sour.

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When Howard passed away on July 30, 2018, my commitment to the 'I Do' we exchanged 22 years earlier transformed into a season of commitment to continue the legacy of faith that prevented, absolutely disallowed, our circumstances to dictate our ability to reflect our Creator. 

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The Lemonade Stand can become a haven of rest, encouragement, and strength for you! If I had a moment to sit down with you, I would look into your eyes and hopefully, see your heart. We would find that we share common hurts, dreams, disappointments, and moments of happiness. 

 

The experience of life differs for each one of us, but the emotion is similar because of our shared humanity.  We would laugh, cry, smile, and maybe even gasp at the shock of our stories! At the end of our conversation (over French vanilla iced coffee, of course), we would hug and commit to pray for one another. We would be strengthened in our commitment to becoming better, not bitter, no matter what lemons life might lob our direction. 

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Because of the Word of God, I have learned how to stay sweetly in love with Jesus when life turns sour. You can, too! I hope that you will join me on this journey.