When the temperature soared to 101 degrees and hovered there yesterday, my 8-year-old daughter decided to become an entrepreneur.
What better day than on a really, really steamy one to open a lemonade stand? People would be thirsty, right?
They'd eagerly hand over $1 each for those small styrofoam cups teeming with water, sugar and the lemons she had squeezed herself ... with a little help from her 5-year-old brotherly assistant.
She's been pining for a portable CD player with headphones and I've been asking what she'll do to help pay for it. Rather than being Scrooge-like, I've decided that 8 is a great age to teach responsiblity( somehow the last CD player got lost), basic money management skills and reinforce the math concepts she'll need to know when she returns to school soon. I've told her if she'll earn part of the money, I'll provide the rest.
Though I admired her eagerness to set up shop, when she grabbed my keys and asked me to drive her to a nearby grocery store for supplies, I called her into a "meeting" to review her business plan.
"What supplies do you need? How much is this going to cost you?"
"Let's see... I'll use your water and your sugar, so just the lemons," she said.
By the time we figured in other necessities, her expenditures totaled about $6. She knew that at $1 a cup, she'd have to sell six cups of lemonade to break even.
"What will you use as a lemonade stand?"
Her eyes scanned the room. "Can we take the kitchen table outside?"
We agreed that the small card table in the garage would be more suitable.
Then came a critical question, one we writers routinely face: If no one knows about your product, how will you sell it? Even with lemonade stands, marketing is crucial.
She considered moving her business to the sidewalk in front of a grocery or retail store. Unless she was planning to give the money to charity, I told her, store management likely wouldn't give permission. (A fundraiser for a local children's hospital is next on her list, she says.)
Finally she gave in to exasperation.
"Let me just set up the stand. I'll sit there and smile and people will stop to buy a drink."
Wouldn't it be great if selling books were that easy? Or anything else we wanted to accomplish?
Her persistence almost made me relent. When we turned to the Weather Channel, however, talk of the record-breaking temperature and a heat index of 110 degrees bolstered my stance.
I walked her to a window in our family room that overlooks the neighborhood. Deserted streets met her gaze.
"If you wait for a cooler day, you'll have customers," I advised. "Why don't you make your signs, gather your supplies and be ready to open for business when people are out walking their dogs, riding bikes or taking a stroll?"
She reluctantly agreed. At sunset, when we emerged from our home for a brief period of outdoor play, our neighbor, Maureen, reinforced our (my?) decision.
"Saturdays are best," Maureen told her. "All the kids will be outside. It will be cooler, but they'll still be hot and thirsty."
My young biz whiz felt better about postponing her plans.
Today, her lemons are on hand, she's begun making her signs and I'm sure she'll be watching weather-related news with more than a passing interest.
Yes, I could have let her set up her stand yesterday and experience the fun of simply undertaking the project, even if no one bought her lemonade but me and her Dad.
By convincing her to wait, though, I hope she'll be rewarded by pocketing profits from numerous customers. I also hope I've taught her basic analytical skills that will serve her well as the need to make wise decisions grows.
Isn't this similar to the process God takes us through when we're seeking to deepen our relationship with Him?
Few of us start out as "super-Christians" who always know exactly what to do or how to please God when questions or dilemmas arise. As I've come to know God better, I've learned that my spiritual journey isn't a linear path. It is sometimes riddled with setbacks yet often blessed with anointed leaps. It's not a one-or-the-other kind of experience. That's the beauty of living under God's grace.
Just as I advised my daughter, God sometimes calls me to wait. It's to my advantage to listen, because He sees all of the curves in the road ahead while I'm entranced by the simple bend that just came into view.
As Paul encouraged his mentee in 2 Timonthy 4:2, we too must be ready for the appropriate season (or temperature). Ready to sell lemonade and ready to write. Ready to represent God wherever our destiny leads.
Stacy Hawkins Adams is the author of Nothing But the Right Thing and Speak To My Heart. She's also an inspirational columnist and motivational speaker, at work on her third book. Stacy lives in Richmond, Va. with her husband and two children - the budding entrepreneur and resident sidekick.
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