Sour lemons

A number of years back, I had a dream I was looking for lemons on my lemon tree. To my astonishment, I suddenly found lemons the size and shape of footballs where there had been none. At the time, I felt God promising me a time of fruitfulness where I would be astounded by the size of the fruit that “suddenly” appeared.

Shortly after this dream, we moved that lemon tree into a different place in the garden. Over the past couple of years, we have been waiting for it to produce any fruit at all. Last year we got some flowers, but they never quite held on long enough to give us lemons. However, this year we SUDDENLY have a bumper crop of lemons growing on our tree, and guess what? Some are the shape of footballs! (Although not quite that big – but they are big.) Added to that, I am picking my second crop of raspberries and they are also enormous.

There are two things I am sensing from God in this.

The first is that a time of great harvest and great fruitfulness is coming. As you might recall, my word for this year is “abundance”. Well, we have definitely had abundant rain so far this year, and now, an abundance of lemons on the way! With a number of prophetic words that we are heading for a massive spiritual harvest in the next little while, I am taking this as an affirmation. The work of the past is about to bear fruit!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9)

And then I was thinking about the significance of lemons. Although I really like lemons and use them a great deal, they are not a fruit many people just peel and eat. Being sour, some people reject them completely. We have a saying when something is bad or useless, particularly around cars, that it is a bit of a “lemon” – it doesn’t do what it should very well. However, when lemons are combined with other ingredients, many delicious and health giving foods can be made: honey and lemon tea; so many lemon slice recipes; lemon and sugar on pancakes; lemon chicken – are you hungry yet?

It reminds me of the saying:

What do you do when life hands you lemons?

You make lemonade.

And then I remembered of a third aspect of lemons. Every now and then you get one that seems full of pips/seeds – the sign of new life! Every seed has the prospect of become a new lemon tree, which in turn may produce many more lemons, each with their own seeds, and so the cycle continues.

While many may feel we are in a time when “life” has handed us a truckload of lemons, we could see it as a time of great sourness. However, when we combine those lemons with the good God has already given us in terms of our other resources, time, energy and gifts and abilities, we are also being given an amazing opportunity to be producing a great deal of quality lemonade. And who knows how many seeds might come from them, too?

If you are not sure what to do with those things that potentially leave a sour taste in your mouth, the “lemons” you have at this time, ask God and dream big – you may be surprised at what He and you together can bring out of this time!