“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I’ve heard those words countless times, but I’ve never understood them. Actually, I understand this saying perfectly; what I don’t understand is why people believe it’s always true. Life is just not that simple. Sometimes it gets so rough that one doesn’t have sugar to make the lemonade with. When that happens, there are a number of things that can be done. One could distract oneself with earsplitting music to forget the pain. One could turn on a reality show to remind oneself that there are lots of people who have made their lives worse; I recommend Jersey Shore. Otherwise, one can do what I always do. Turn to someone who’s always going to be there for you no matter what, because that’s why he or she exists. What I always do is turn to God.
I don’t know if God really exists or if God’s just some larger-than-life figure created by bored, ancient humans who had nothing better to do; the same kind of people who made up Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. To be completely honest, I could really care less. To me, whether real or not, God’s already done his or her job. God is someone I can always turn to when I feel down or alone. I know that someone’s looking out for me and will always be there. God gives me something to pray for and someone to pray to. God forces me to confront things that maybe I don’t want to encounter, but I have to. Maybe God doesn’t exist. Maybe when I die, I’ll find out that God is actually a myth. That it was all a sham and that all those prayers I said to God were said in vain. That all those stories about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Jacob were only fairy tales. If I’m forced to come to terms with such a nightmare, I would be okay with it. I would know that my prayers to God weren’t completely useless. They brought me closer to myself and made me stronger. God kept me sane. The difference between God, Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny is that God does more than put smiles on little kids’ faces. God brings people hope, God brings the world hope, and God brings me hope. What could be more real than that?