On September 22-23, I have been invited to lead a women’s conference at St. Johns Baptist Church in Greenville, Florida. I am beyond excited for this opportunity and if you are interested in being a part, please contact St. Johns at: SJMBCGreenville@gmail.com or email me at my address below.

The topic of the weekend is When Life Gives You Lemons. One of the lemons we discussed at our planning meeting this weekend is the lemon of grief and loss. As we talked, a wave of reality hit me. Loss isn’t just the death of a loved one. Loss is the absence of something or someone.

The loss of a job or opportunity. The loss of our possessions or finances. The loss of our dreams and hopes. The loss of our identity or who we thought we would be. The loss of peace. The loss of joy. The loss of touch with reality or mental acuity. The loss of direction. The loss of health. The loss of boldness. The loss of motivation. The loss of faith.

When we are facing the lemon of loss, we are left with an obvious hole—one that we often try to fill with all the wrong things. Loss leaves us empty. Lost. Searching. And doubtful. Loss has a way of gripping us deep inside, convincing us that we will never be whole without whatever is now missing.

But the lemon of loss isn’t the end of the story. When the squeezing first happens, the juice coming out tastes sour. Bitter frustration and doubt fill the glass that is mixed with sadness and regret. But once we stop focusing on the loss and turn our attention toward Jesus, we can mix his sweetness into the juice and a tasty drink is produced.

God can make lemonade out of our messed-up lemons. He can take the sour and make it sweet. And one fact I know for sure: if we give him the hard parts of our lives and offer them in full surrender, he will make sure that our hurts are never wasted. He wants to redeem what the enemy hopes to ruin us with.

This week, take your attention off the loss that has consumed your focus and fix your gaze on Jesus. Following him won’t make the lemons stop coming but adding him to the mix can sure make the sour sweeter. Won’t you try some of his lemonade this week?