Lemonade Packets
Why someone else's pre-made solution won't fix your life
My 5 year old son loves to stop by my parent’s house when we are in town to load up on snacks. He especially loves those little lemonade powder packs. The other day I brought one home for him and he said to me.
“Mom I don’t really like lemonade packets anymore.”
“Oh. Ok. Why not ?”
“Well, I’ve been making it homemade and I decided that’s how I like it. It’s just better.”
Yes sir. It is.
He has been making it with his older sister, so not only is the taste better, but he is having an experience. Squeezing the lemons and tasting the juice. Laughing with her at the way his face puckers up when he licks a lemon. Measuring out the sugar. Mixing.
Does it take more time to make? Yes. A little messier? Yes. But once you have had the real thing, it’s hard to go back to the shadow.
I started to think about how many times in life we settle for the lemonade packet.
Our whole being longs for the good stuff, but so often we either choose or are fed the artificial replica.
Lemonade packets for our body
I have been dealing with an autoimmune disease for the last two years. There have been many days I just wanted someone else to tell me what to do to fix it. I searched for that person. For answers. I read countless articles, listened to podcasts, have seen many practitioners, tried this and that. I came to the conclusion that someone else’s healing journey will look different than mine. We are different bodies with different stories and experiences.
I have patch-worked my protocol based on my specific needs. Instead of just blindly using the influencers code for the “lemonade packet” that worked for her, I try and ask myself…
What is my body trying to tell me? How sweet of God to give us bodies that let us know when something is off! Lots of times it’s just you need more sleep, you need more water, you need to move or you need more sun .
Am I nourishing myself or am I depleted?
Where do I feel tension in my body? Closing my eyes. Taking deep breaths and simply noticing if I am holding my breath, collapsing, or tight.
Where am I in my cycle? Honestly, answering this question first is really helpful.
As much as we want one pill to solve all of our aliments in our bodies…it turns out we are more complex beings than a simple machine.
Lemonade packets for our soul
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We get so busy listening to others ideas, opinions, and thoughts that we can lose our own. I find when I am consuming more than I am creating I become less compassionate and more judgmental toward myself and others. I can feel pulled to do something, make something, say something, but instead I opt for someone else’s pre-made packet and just copy and paste. At some point, all of the information I am consuming isn’t even sticking anymore, it’s just noise. When I notice this happening I turn the podcasts off, slow my scroll, and return to moving throughout my day with no noise. Quietly fold laundry. Drive. Cook. After my itching ears get over the boredom of it all…this is when the good ideas start to flow or something comes to mind to create. Then just being with myself becomes enjoyable. If it feels too hard to cut off all noise and my mind is swirling, I will find a line from a book I am reading or an idea from something I’m listening to and really focus on it to take the concept deeper than just in one ear and out the other.
Lemonade packets for our spirit
I remember Francois Fineberg telling me once “There is no formula to fellowshipping with God.”
Yes, a quiet space helps. Yes, open your Bible. But just because Suzy had an encounter with God when she did this, this, and this doesn’t mean you will.
This is the area of life where I feel the most sad when people take the pre-made packet. God so desires to commune with us. For our hearts to be aligned and connected to His. I think biblical teaching and beautiful worship songs are needed but if we are feeding on sermon after sermon and bible study after bible study that someone else has created out of their own time with God…we are missing out.
When was the last time I sang a song of worship from my heart to God? One that has never been written or sung by anyone else. One that just bubbles up as I am moving through out my day? When has praying been an overflow of my love for God, thanking Him for life? Or of anger, sadness, and fear over a certain situation? It feels so much easier to pull out the devotion “prayers to pray when you are sad” or something like that. No! God wants my messy prayers. My very tears. He wants to gently lead me into His presence amidst the chaos and teach me to uniquely be with Him in the life he has given me. Not in someone else’s.
When we are in a pinch. Dying from thirst. Needing just a little flavor…Sure, we can reach for the lemonade packet, but let us not mistake it for the real thing.