A Fight to See the Light

By Kenny Mitchell

It comes to mind that there are some days that life makes it extremely hard to make lemonade.

Life has a tendency to throw things at us that will even not want to even think of drinking lemonade of any kind, and it is those days when we need it most.

I play around with the word lemonade a lot here in this weekly spot, with the hopes that you will understand the real meaning behind the words.

Obviously, lemonade has a hodgepodge of meanings, but in most cases here, it stands for the good things in life. The things that make us happy, bring us joy, and make this thing we call life...livable.

But, it has been my experience, that even though we should always look for the way to take the ingredients that life brings us and make the best of it, there are days when it seems almost impossible.

Let me try to give you some examples.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a rash of burglaries in our area. What must be a pretty organized group of ...hmmmm, how do I put this...thugs...miscreants...petty thieves...lost souls, have been going about stealing everything they can find that’s not nailed down. I am talking everything from tools, lawnmowers, and even kid’s toys, right out of folks’ yards.

Now, that might not seem like a terrible crime in the light of the violent stuff we see on the news, but if you are like me, if you pay for something, it’s yours, and you don’t like it when somebody takes it from you.

It is fairly hard to make lemonade from those particular ingredients because it leaves a pretty sour taste in your mouth when things you spent your hard earned money on suddenly are gone.

Another, even harsher example is this.

This past week brought the news that a young man, a 2025 graduate of Redwater High School, is no longer with us.

As it is, very few know the real circumstances of why that young man is no longer here on this Earth, but no one will argue the fact that his passing came too soon.

There is almost no way to take that kind of hurt and make lemonade.

Speaking purely as one who has experienced the loss of a loved one, way too soon, it is hard to see the light of hope in that darkness. It is a challenge to see any good come from it. It is next to impossible to even think that God has a plan in the midst of the pain.

But also speaking from one who has been there...He does.

It takes time to see the plan in the pain, and it takes a determination to even look for it, but somewhere in the loss there comes a light.  To be honest, even after eight year, that light can be pretty dim sometimes, but it is there nonetheless.

So, this week, it comes to my thoughts that sometimes we have to really fight for the light. We have to dig deep into our soul, and our faith, to find the right ingredients to make life’s lemonade.

This past Saturday helped most of us find a little sweetness in life as we all celebrated the 250th birthday of our great country. It was a day to remember for people all across our land. Here locally, there were the usual fireworks shows and holiday festivals and from what I saw, there were good times that lead to lemonade.

The fact that we were celebrating such a monumental day is a lasting testament to the fortitude of our citizens and to the base of faith that our country was founded upon.

You can look around and see all of the dissention, the turmoil and the division, but at the root of our country still lives, one nation under God.

Despite the hate that rears its ugly head far too often, and despite the wars that we fight, overseas and right here at home, God is still in our midst and He is watching over us as He always has.

There is lemonade to be made from those facts and we have the choice, daily, to either find the sweetness of being an American and celebrating it with a hot dog, apple pie and a cold, icy glass of lemonade, or letting the ugliness of the world settle into our souls and be a part of it.

My prayer is that more of us every day see the sweetness, fight to keep it, and God Bless the United States of America.