Lemons and Lemonade

Failures and defeats can be your stepping stones toward success. The greatest men and women of all time were those who were able to turn their failures to success. To name few:

Walt Disney-Our childhood would have been dreary without this genius of a man. Walt Disney was also another boy brought up in a farm – and used to draw pictures for his neighbors for money. He used to be the cartoonist for the school newspaper, Disney went through the jobless phase where no one hired him, and his brother had to help him out with his job search. He went from rags to riches by starting out with advertisements and going on to animating his own cartoons.

Samuel Walton - Growing up in the great depression of the 1930s, Walton had to milk family cow and do numerous odd jobs to help family survive. After the war, he took out a loan to buy a small grocery store. He went on to build this into the giant Walmart supermarket chain, amassing a fortune of over $23 billion

Oprah Winfrey. Born to a housemaid and a coal miner, Oprah definitely did not grow in the lap of luxury. Living the life of poverty, where she used to have to wear dresses made out of potato sacks and was molested by relatives. She entered the world of media after getting the job of a news-reader in a local black radio station. After she got her first talk-show in Chicago, there was no looking back for this TV personality.

Howard Schultz - Born to poor Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York. Schultz was the first member of his family to attend college. Working his way up from a salesperson for Xerox, he became CEO of Starbucks, and oversaw its rapid growth, leaving him a net worth of $1.6 billion by 2013.

JK Rowling- Before becoming the international best selling author of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling was a struggling single mother. Life was tough for her living off of government welfare, but she stuck to it and even managed to find the time to write. The result? She's estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion. JK Rowling is literally the definition of a rags to riches story.

Whatever hardships, trials or difficulties we may experience, God is greater and He uses these things to make us more dependent upon him. When we feel defeated, we can get back on track by living victoriously in Jesus, believing that he will comfort and help us. He is in control and greater than our circumstances.

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (Galatians 6:9). We are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37)!

Lastly, if you’re someone reading this that has never trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal savior I have  great news for you. God loves you so very much and has tremendous plan in your life. He wants to save you from your sins so that you can experience eternal life and be with him in heaven, but he also wants to be there for you through life’s difficulties. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).