Summer Sampler: Lemonade in the Hands of Jesus
Welcome to the Summer Sampler Series! This summer, we are celebrating the beautiful, diverse ways God is working in and through the women in our community. Psalm 107:2 declares, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” Every week, our Summer Sampler series will feature a different author sharing a personal glimpse into the story God has been writing in her life and ministry lately. These are authentic, honest reflections of faith, encouragement, and everyday ministry experienced “along the way” of regular life. So, grab a cool drink, pull up a chair, and join us this summer as we celebrate His presence in our everyday lives!
By Abigail Chrisicos
Summer is finally here, and after a long winter and rainy spring, I am really enjoying the warmth and beauty this season brings. The hot sunny days, longer evenings, and the joy of planting in the garden again, filling me with excitement and hope. I enjoy lounging by the pool, listening to the birds while children laugh and splash in the water, and soaking in those simple moments of summer. Somehow, all those moments feel even sweeter when they are paired with a refreshing glass of cold lemonade.
Every season brings moments of sweetness and moments of sorrow. When both ingredients are poured together, they create something bittersweet. Life is often lived in that rhythm of experiencing joy and pain at the same time. Like an expectant mother experiencing the pains of labor, who also carries the joy and anticipation of the beautiful blessing that will come after the pain. She endures because she knows something precious is being brought forth.
God is the one who takes the sour things in our lives and transforms them into something good.
There is a saying that goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” and there’s a song by Forrest Frank that says, “Life gave me some lemons, but my Jesus He be making lemonade.” The truth is, we do not always have control over what life throws at us, but our responsibility is not to control every circumstance. It is to trust God through it all. God is the one who takes the sour things in our lives and transforms them into something good. When we surrender our bitter lemons to Him, He produces something within us that not only strengthens us and helps us grow, but also becomes an outpouring of encouragement and hope to others. Only God can take life’s lemons and turn them into a refreshing sweet drink worth pouring out.
In my own personal life, a recent bitter season I had to endure was being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease back in 2022. Although it was painful physically and emotionally, I made the decision not to become bitter through it. Instead, I drew closer to God, and through every difficult moment, He redeemed it. He took something that once felt painful and distasteful in my life and brought forth something new and sweet through it. Not only did He work within my own heart, but He also used that season to touch the lives of those around me, pointing others to His goodness, faithfulness, and sustaining grace, beginning with my own family.
It is in those bitter moments, when we invite Him in, that He begins to shape our hearts, strengthen our faith, and reveal Himself to us in deeper ways. His sweetness begins to dilute the bitterness of our season until what once tasted sour is transformed into something refreshing. Though the season of illness was painful and bitter, it was also a season full of spiritual richness and deeper intimacy with God because His sweetness was being sprinkled throughout it all and continues to be. At times, fear and doubt tried to creep in, but God kept adding a little more sweetness so that I could continue to “taste and see His goodness” (Psalm 34:8), His faithfulness, and His nearness in ways I had never experienced before.
The question is: will those difficult seasons in our lives produce bitterness within us, or will we invite God to transform them into a drink offering poured out for His glory and for the refreshing of others?
Throughout the summer, whether you are sitting in the sunshine, tending your garden, spending time with family, or at the very same time walking through a season of pain, disappointment, fear, or uncertainty, may every cold glass of lemonade be a reminder of this simple truth: when life hands us lemons, our Jesus still makes lemonade. “God is working all things together for our good” (Romans 8:28).
Abigail Chrisicos is is a devoted wife of 18 years and a loving mother of three young boys. After spending her youth as a prodigal daughter, she returned to the faith as a first-time mother, discovering that everything she had once searched for in the world was found in Jesus Christ!
Abigail’s life experiences have shaped a deep passion to encourage and teach all ages biblical truth that transforms lives through the power of God’s word. Her greatest desire is for others to fall in love with the Author of Scripture. As God continues to restore and renew her life, Abigail remains committed to being a faithful witness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Abigail is also one of our featured speakers in the By Design Speakers Directory. If you are looking for a Christian speaker for your special event, please visit our online directory or contact us to request a hard copy.