A "Lemonade Stand" Lifestyle

           I am babysitting two girls during the days this summer. They are four and six years old and love to do lemonade stands. Unfortunately, they live on a street that doesn't get much traffic so it makes running a profitable lemonade stand pretty difficult. A few times I have decided to take them to my house, since it is on a well-traveled road, so that they could run their own lemonade stand.

            When we first started I thought, “This will be a great opportunity to teach them about kindness and how to serve others with a smile.” I had them make the lemonade free and placed a tip jar on their table. They were a little upset with me for making it free, but we ended up being a blessing to some thirsty kids on a scooter ride that didn't have any change. There were also a few generous donations for a small cup of lemonade, but I learned something as I sat and watched them sell their ice cold lemonade. I didn't learn anything about business and sales. I didn't learn about customer service. I didn't learn a single thing from the people that stopped. I did, however, learn a lot from the others… the ones that didn't stop.

            Okay, so bear with me, I’m not putting anyone down that doesn't stop at lemonade stands. I realize that we are actually in a hurry to get places some times and that we simply don’t have the time to stop and get out of our cars for a few moments. I get it, we are all busy. That’s the thing, though, very few people stopped. Most of the people that stopped were people that knew us and old people.

            I was astonished, after all, it was free lemonade. There was no excuse to not stop, even the, “I only have my card with me,” excuse. It was free, at some point these girls didn't even care if people didn't give a lot of money, they just wanted someone to stop and test out the lemonade that they made and took pride in.

Our neighbor made a comment that watching the girls reminded her of her son and his friend when they were little. She said that they would get so many customers to stop and would just have a fun time handing out lemonade. It really made me stop and think of my own childhood. I’m not that old, but I remember back to when I was a little kid. People would almost always stop for lemonade, even if they were in a bit of a rush. So, what has changed?

I think of my dad’s vision for the church, “The Porch Life.” A time when neighbors talked all the time, spent time on each other’s porches, simply put in the effort to build relationships with those around them. Intentional people, willing and ready to share their lives with the people around them. I wish for the days of laid back lifestyles. Lifestyles were people had the time to wave to their neighbor and yell a, “how ya doing?” across the fence, genuinely interested in a conversation. A lifestyle that encourages an open schedule. A lifestyle that families still eat together every night. What would happen if we all stepped back and tried to live a “lemonade stand” lifestyle again?