by Jason Manley
Jerry Seinfeld once asked, “Ever notice a lot of butlers are named Jeeves?”
He continues, “you name a baby Jeeves, you’ve pretty much mapped out his future, wouldn’t you say?”
I think similar pigeonholing happens to that humblest of fruit – the lemon. The lemon’s options in life are limited, and in fact it’s hard to think of other fruits that no one likes to eat, but they like to make stuff out of. Thus, the well-worn proverb about making lemonade out of lemons.
It seems to me that this season of life is ripe (ouch!) for making plenty of lemonade, and I have really enjoyed hearing from family and friends about the unexpected blessings they are finding these days. Parents with older kids are getting to spend time with them in ways that they thought they may never have again. Board games are being played, family walks and bike rides have become part of the daily routine, some families are learning to make new foods together, and the list goes on. Families with young children (mine among them) are exhausted, of course, but hopefully also cherishing the slower pace of life as a time to remember that “children are a blessing from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3), and perpetual fountains of energy and joy, even in the midst of uncertainty.
Some of us may also be able to make some lemonade in our professional lives through this. For example, the Advanced Chemistry class at Habersham has been reading Darwin’s Black Box by Lehigh University biochemist, Michael Behe. As the students were introduced to the amazing arrangement of biochemical parts in our bodies, and the insurmountable difficulties these pose for the Darwinian hypothesis, they began asking lots of questions. I had a hunch that Dr. Behe may not be traveling much right now, so I asked if he would Zoom with us and field some questions from the students. This past Wednesday, he did just that. He gave thoughtful and gracious responses to some great questions, and we all came away encouraged and informed.
Please allow me one final suggestion on making the most of this time. I encourage everyone to take time to think and pray about what God may be up to through this, what He may be trying to teach us. In a now famous Instagram post, none other than Hulk Hogan (!) wondered if God might be stripping away the stuff we actually hold most dear (comfort, sports, entertainment, money, etc.) in order to turn our hearts back to Him. With our hearts being the idol-factories that they are, perhaps the Hulkster is on to something. Maybe we should use this time to assess where we actually place our hope and allegiance. Reading the Bible, prayer, and reflection seem like powerful ways to invest our time, which some of us have plenty more of right now.
However you choose to make your metaphorical (or literal) lemonade, I recommend one cup of sugar per two liters of water, and a posture of gratitude for the goodness of God. As those thoughtful philosophers – The East High School Wildcats – remind us, we are all in this together, and we can all find many things to be thankful for, even in these strange days.
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