Perspective: When Life Gives You Onions

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

When Life Gives You Onions

Scripture:

I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13 (CEB)

When I’m stuck in this nothingness by myself
I’m just sitting in silence
There’s no way I can make it without Your help
I won’t even try it
I know You have Your reasons for everything
So I will keep believing
Whatever I might be feeling, God, You are my hope
And You'll be my strength

From "No Matter What" by Kerrie Roberts

"When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade."

You have probably heard this little piece of advice in some form at some point in your lifetime. This famous saying is attributed to Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking and one of the founders of the popular Guideposts magazine.¹ I first heard this advice when I was young, but just recently have I begun to really give it any serious thought.

Obviously this advice is not referring to literal lemons. What it means is that, when something bad happens, you should try to make something good out of it. In general, I think that this is good advice. I believe that people should always try to turn a negative into a positive. One should always try to make the best of any situation.

Though I think this modern-day proverb is very appropriate for minor setbacks, I don't think it would be very helpful to someone going through a really tough time. Though it would still be sound advice, I think it would sound rather glib in really trying times. I know that in my own times of struggling and emotional turmoil, if someone advised me just to turn my lemons into lemonade, I would probably become irritable and would want to say something like, "Easy for you to say! You have no idea what I'm going through right now!"

The catch is that lemonade is actually rather easy to make. Squeezing lemons is not a very difficult task. What I don't particularly like about this piece of advice is that it does not acknowledge how truly difficult it can be to overcome some of the struggles that life throws at us. The truth is that life does not always give us "lemons." I would say that sometimes life gives us "onions."

A couple of months ago, I made some broccoli salad for a party. The recipe called for a red onion. As I sliced up the onion, the floodgates of my sinuses opened. The old saying that onions make a person cry proved true in my case. Thanks to the onion fumes, my eyes burned and watered, and my nose began to run. I had to leave the kitchen, run to the bathroom, and blow my nose. Cutting up that onion was no fun whatsoever.

I think that some of life's trials are more like onions than lemons. Like lemons, onions are not very good to eat by themselves, but they can be used to make good things. Unlike squeezing lemons, though, cutting up onions is not very fun. In fact, it is downright unpleasant. Onions can be used to make good foods like salads, sandwiches, soups, and pizzas, but there will be tears along the way.

If you are more than a few years old, you have probably come to realize that life is not always easy. Life can be difficult, unfair, and even downright cruel at times. There will be times when we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. There will be times when we cannot see how anything good could possibly come from our circumstances. There will be times when we will want to cry.

The good news is that we are not alone, that we do not have to go through these tough times all by ourselves. Remember that God is always there for us if we will only turn to Him. St. Peter wrote, "Throw all your anxiety onto [God], because He cares about you."² St. Paul noted that he could endure anything that life threw at him because Christ gave him strength.³ No matter what you are going through, God is there to help you if you will only turn your troubles over to Him. There is no problem that you cannot take to God.

Remember also that you can turn to other people for help as well. God did not intend for us to face life by ourselves; He never intended for people to be alone in this world. We are created for community, and we are called to help shoulder each others' burdens.⁴ Don't be afraid to admit your feelings to others or too proud to ask others for help. True friends will be there for you in your time of need.

Realize that, whatever you are going through, God understands your pain. Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully human. He had a human heart. He had human feelings. He shed human tears. He was man enough to express His feelings before others, and He was not afraid to ask His friends for help when He needed them.⁵ Dr. David A. Seamands notes that Christ, in His time of suffering, "took unto Himself the entire range of our feelings. And He bore the feeling of our infirmities, that we would not have to bear them alone."⁶

When life hands you an onion, turn it over to God. Be confident that He understands your pain and that He will bring something good out of your difficult time. Do not be afraid to open up to others and to ask for help. Work through your trying time the best you can, and, if necessary, cry your eyes out.


Notes:
1 - Wikipedia: "Norman Vincent Peale"
2 - 1 Peter 5:7 (CEB)
3 - Philippians 4:13
4 - Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:10, Galatians 6:2
5 - John 11:35, Matthew 26:37-38
6 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook. p. 44 (See all of chapter 3.)

The photograph used in this perspective was taken by Roland Geider and is public domain.


If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.