So, you’ve had a bad day and nothing seems to be going right?! We all have rough days, and sometimes mistakes happen and life gives you lemons.
In primary school, I had an art teacher who always had a very strict rule. Under no circumstances are you ever to use an eraser in the art class. If you make a mistake, you turn it into a “happy mistake”. This challenged my thinking and, contrary to what you might believe, it’s harder than you think!
Imagine not having an eraser or tip-ex, imagine no backspace or delete key on your keyboard. Suddenly the pressure’s on and you have to focus that much harder to NOT make mistakes. This challenged my thinking and left me with two options:
- I could strive for perfection and get it right every time, first time!
- I could allow myself room for mistakes, and using those mistakes to form part of my art and in a very creative way, to correct them.
I learned the hard way that life is not about perfect living, but rather striving for excellence in everything that I do. I had to accept the fact that I WILL make mistakes along the way and I WILL get it wrong at times.
How am I going to deal with those wrong choices, how will I correct those mistakes? How will I turn the lemons of life into lemonade?
Now, you must remember, when it comes to art, I can’t even draw a reasonable stick man, let alone some amazing sketch. Imagine how difficult it was for me to pull off a specific picture as prescribed by the teacher, with as few mistakes as possible! And no eraser!! H-E-L-P!
I am not perfect, and never will be. While I know this is true, I don’t regard it as an excuse to live substandard, having no self-expectations or achievable goals. My limitations and hiccups enable me to work hard, strive towards better results, be cleverer in my approach etc.
When life gives you lemons, how will you react? Will you allow the sour flavour to stain your smile and frustrate your ability to function? Why not challenge yourself today to lick up the sour taste, add some honey to the mix, and even if you at first have to, fake it till you make it, then that’s what you’ll do.
Remember, you can only do so much in your own strength and ability, perhaps you need to place your ‘ability’ or lack thereof, in the ability of one who can do what you simply can’t do on your own! We want to introduce you to the faith we have in God to be that ‘one’ for us. Check out the video below and let us know how we can help you turn your lemons into lemonade!