For the Strength of Youth
Brazilian Lemonade and the Limes of Life
August 2024

Brazilian Lemonade and the Limes of Life

By Brynn Wengler

Church Magazines

Life has a way of messing with your expectations. What do you do then?

limes

Fresh Brazilian Lemonade, the sign at the outdoor market read. After one delicious, creamy sip, I just had to go home and make my own.

I thought I knew what to expect: sugar, water, ice, and of course lemons, right? (After all, in English, the name of the drink has lemon in it.)

But when I googled a Brazilian recipe, I was surprised to find limes instead of the lemons I expected. Not what I was used to!

A Recipe for Life

Unexpected ingredients in a recipe are one thing, but what about when life throws you the unexpected or even the unpleasant? Picture this: you’re doing your best to make righteous choices, and things are going great. You think the recipe for your life might have ingredients like this:

  • Blessings

  • Friends for life

  • A loving family

  • Serving an awesome mission

  • Getting your dream job

But as you go along, you also find these ingredients in the mix:

  • Trials

  • Friendships that end unexpectedly

  • Family struggling

  • A really hard mission

  • Prayers going unanswered

Did you do something wrong? Is life ruined? Should you throw away the recipe (and your faith while you’re at it) because things aren’t going the way you expected?

Put Your Trust in God

Of course not! Take it from the 2,000 stripling warriors. Though they and their families lived righteously, they still faced war, separation from their families, and serious injuries. Probably not what these valiant young men expected.

But despite that, they still said, “Our God is with us” (Alma 56:46). When they gave up their expectations, put their trust in God, and moved forward in faith, He turned the unexpected “limes” of their lives into blessings. And He will do the same for you.

So the next time your life’s recipe calls for limes when you thought there would be lemons, don’t give up. As the Lord taught Joseph Smith, “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7). No matter what happens, with God on your side, life can still be delicious. (Maybe it will be as good as Brazilian lemonade.)