Splat! The glass jar of spaghetti sauce rolled out of the SUV and broke into a thousand pieces on the concrete, splattering all over my legs, shirt, face, and sunglasses. I just stood there momentarily, taking in all that had happened while Penny, our female golden retriever, and Peanut, the youngest of the herd, a male golden retriever, licked up the tomato goodness as fast as they could. I could tell from the taste of the sauce in my mouth that it would be a great day.
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It is irresistible to see little kids setting up lemonade stands. There is something so innocent about learning to make a dollar and yet refreshing to the pallet as a cool glass of lemonade. Eva has her own little table she sets up at local events while I set up and sell books. We throw a tablecloth over her stand, and she sets a canister of delightfully inviting yellow or pink sugary goodness and writes on her chalkboard sign – Lemonade $1.00. Charlotte stands beside her, enjoying the constant flow of juice into her glass as she figured out how to push the lever and release the liquid. At times Eva disappears to play with her friends around the courthouse square, Charlotte hot on her heels, and I am left to sell at the small entrepreneurship. Either I did a terrible job of teaching Eva how to sell, or she is an excellent manager, leaving others to do the job she started.
The stand next to us commented, “Your girls are absolutely adorable. That little one is wide open, isn’t she?” I turned to look at Charlotte. There she was, pouring another glass of lemonade into her cheese dip and drinking it. “Charlotte! Stop that!”
The day was beginning to wane, and the crowd was thinning. The lemonade was at the bottom of the canister. Eva had sold steadily all day, as had I. Now traffic had slowed as we approached midafternoon. Charlotte had left with Daddy, full of fun and lemonade, ready for her afternoon nap.
Sitting there behind my booth, I caught sight of Eva sitting behind her stand. My heart went out to her. She had chosen to stay with me to see if she could sell more glasses through the afternoon. But it had proven to be less than successful. Her jug was almost empty, with only a few glasses remaining. I could hear my parents echoing in my mind, “Put your kids in everything you do. Start while they are young to show them God’s way. Don’t exclude them; include them.”
I can still see Dad unloading horses from the horse trailer. He didn’t own horses only he could ride; he had horses the whole family could ride. He wasn’t leaving us behind to catch up with him later. We were going together. He knew the secret ingredient to keeping his family chasing him; put them in everything he did.
I remember watching him load horses before Sunday morning service; their hoof beats would echo as each horse took his turn loading into the horse trailer. A nicker or two would sound as their buddies were loaded next to them.
Dad would go early to unlock the church and get ready for service, leaving the horses in the horse trailer parked on the curb by the church. Depending on the season, when the church service was over, he would drive over an hour to the nearest 4-H event that either Brittney or both of us were involved in or over to the local fairgrounds to be an outrider for the horse races. Only to come home late that evening and unload.
Mom always came later, bringing the lunch that she had prepared. Don’t misunderstand, we had to take care of our horse, but no amount of care could compare to what he had to oversee. The truth is, it was extra work. He had to load his saddle, and two more sets of tack, saddles, and gear that needed to be hauled, not to mention two more horses to load.
Gathering all the supplies for lemonade, mixing, setting up, counting out money, and cleaning up spills is extra work I could live without. But I will lose in the long run if I choose that way. Not willing to take that chance, I put my girls smack dab in the middle of everything we do.
Wrapping my thoughts back to the present, I looked at Eva sitting there. I said, “Eva, what is faith?” Without hesitation, she answered, “Believing in something before you see it.” “What moves God’s heart, Eva?” “Faith, Mommy.” “Ok then,” I declared. “Don’t you think we should get ready for the rush?” “We need to give God something to work with. Let’s fill your canister with a new batch of lemonade!” She smiled and jumped up to help me.
We made a fresh batch of lemonade with hardly any people insight and put out a new stack of cups. I moved her table out and ensured she sat directly behind her sign. She sat down, ready and excited!
Nothing happened. Waiting can be the hardest, even making you feel a tad silly. Because, after all, what happens if your faith doesn’t work? “Eva, faith is the currency of heaven. When God sees you step out to trust him, He will split heaven wide open to come to your aid.” She couldn’t quite process everything I was saying but continued to sit and wait. I was trusting in God; Eva was trusting in what her mommy said.
As I sat there, I began to watch the crowd. A few more people began to trickle by. Eva was coloring in her coloring book by now, yet people were taking notice of her. I watched a couple pass by, then stop and start digging in their pockets for loose change and bills. They turned around and came back to buy a glass of her lemonade. Her eyes began to brighten, and so did mine. One man had just purchased a massive jug of lemonade from a food truck around the corner. I watched him drink it down as quickly as possible and pour the rest out. He then walked up to her and asked for a refill. He slipped her a five-dollar bill. I beamed with pride watching her face light up.
Who does that? Who pours out a freshly made glass of cool lemonade? God does; when our faith gets involved, He begins to move on the hearts of people to come to our aid, and mostly they never know it.
Person after person came and purchased a cup of lemonade until there was a little less than half a jug left.
Nothing could have spoken more clearly to a little girl than watching God show up at her lemonade stand. God will take what doesn’t even exist and create it when we believe him for it. He wants to do the same for you.
If your lemonade is running low and the crowd is thinning, make a fresh batch and position your stand where people can see it. Get ready because the crowd is coming.
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