January 2026: Lemons and Lemonade
- Thaddaeus Alexander
- Jan 28
- 5 min read
The holiday was fun and restful, but by golly, am I glad to be back at work. DTS starts in six days at the time of writing this, and we are so excited for the students to arrive this coming Wednesday, the 4th of February! I am excited to see what God is going to do in me, in the staff, in the students, in South Africa, and into all of Africa. This is a moment that has been literally over a year in the making. God has thrown me a lot of lemons, and by His grace and mercy, I’ve made lemonade.
Last year I learned many lessons and gained many expectations. But to learn these lessons, you must do the work, and to have expectations requires the strength to remain standing when they are not met. A lesson my father taught me—one I mention or think about daily—is: “Bad things are going to happen to you. You can’t control that. But what you can control is how you react.” This lesson, though simple, has been powerful and has shaped me deeply. From this lesson, I gained two more.
First, I can control how I behave—no one can make me feel something I don’t want to feel if I don’t let them. Second, circumstances do not dictate my calling or my emotions.
Last year, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and it was very difficult to hear. In November, I remember being at our men’s prayer night, about to cry, waiting to hear the official diagnosis. I remember pacing in the back, trying to keep it together. At a certain point, I was on my knees praying, saying, “God, I don’t want my mom to die.” I just kept praying as tears filled my eyes and thoughts of coming home flooded my mind.
Then I became aware of the song being sung at that moment. It’s called “Every Nation (Every Soul)” by Lindy Cofer & Circuit Rider Music. The lyrics that hit me like a sledgehammer were:
“All the nations, they will come,
Holding broken chains above their heads,
Singing, ‘We have overcome
By the blood of the Lamb.’”
At that moment, God reminded me of when I did my visa application to come back to South Africa. I was so overcome with emotion that I was crying in LAX and could only say, “Worthy is the Lamb,” and I couldn’t even finish the short statement. I realize now that it was all the grief of what I was giving up to come to South Africa—but nonetheless, the worthiness of God triumphs over all. When I was brought back to the prayer room, I felt God ask me, “Am I still worthy?” In that moment, the tears breached my eyelids and stormed down my cheeks like soldiers on the beaches of Normandy. All I could say was, “Yes. Yes, God, You are worthy.” It harkened back to what my father taught me: bad things are going to happen, but you get to choose how you react.
The same is true with God.
The circumstances in my life do not dictate God’s worthiness. He is worthy whether I’m a pauper on the streets or a monarch in a castle. This was a big lemon, but God helped me make it lemonade. I can choose the joy of the Lord in spite of my circumstances. Thanks be to God for that. As January continued, we had our Bases In-House Week—a week where staff take intentional time to cast vision for the next year. There were many fun things we got to do: lots of time in the prayer room worshiping God, lectures, and words of encouragement from great speakers. But two things stood out to me the most.
The first was a work-based personality test. This test measured how we prefer to work, the environment we thrive in, the people we work best with, and how we think about our work. It was interesting because it gave language to things I had never thought about before. I always had the mentality of a workhorse or a mule—get in, get the job done, and go home. Through this test, I learned more about myself. I realized I value working with friends, personal development, and respect and prestige in my work. The second thing was that we are going to start using OKRs at FFSA—Objectives and Key Results—which is a system for goal setting. Goal setting is something I want to grow in during 2026. The OKR system helps make goals more practical. Instead of just saying “lose weight” or “gym more,” it breaks big goals into smaller steps, allowing you to celebrate little victories while working toward longer-term ones.
But beyond all of that, the biggest thing I gained from In-House Week was a refresher that we get to choose joy. And that reminder was timely—because I was about to get another lemon. Last week, we went to a beautiful farm called Mooiplaas, which translates from Afrikaans to “Beautiful Farm.” During this time, we spent time as the DTS staff and found out who our co-leaders would be for the next DTS. Later, we learned the outreach locations. My co-leader Justine and I were assigned to Burundi. I was not excited about the location. I thought I was going somewhere else. Frankly, I was upset and envious of my colleagues. I wallowed in self-pity for a few days, but then I remembered—I get to choose joy. So I prayed and said, “God, Burundi wasn’t my first choice, and to be blunt, it might have been my last choice. God, give me a heart for Burundi.” As I prayed, I felt the Lord say one word: “Legacy.” That led me to look up the history of missions in Burundi.
The first missionaries went to Burundi in 1879, and it was turbulent to say the least—they were forced to withdraw. As I meditated and continued praying, I was reminded of Matthew 28, where Jesus gives His disciples the Great Commission. A thought came to me: if God is sovereign and the gospel is still true, then Burundi is still worthy of the gospel. If God spoke to those who came before, and they were willing to be obedient even unto death, then what is my excuse? If those men who died in Burundi could give their all, why can’t I for the thirty-odd days I’ll be there? So now I can say this lemon is being crushed into lemonade. I still need to remain tender in the process, but I know God is sending me there for a reason. And despite my circumstances and feelings, Jesus is still worthy of my life. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Happy are we who serve the Lord all the days of our life.
Thank you for reading my newsletter. It is a blessing to share what God is doing in my life and here in South Africa. Please keep me in your prayers. If you feel led to support me financially, you can do so through my equipment page, which provides tax-deductible giving. The link is on my website’s homepage. Whether you support financially or prayerfully, I am grateful. And please let me know how I can pray for you as well.
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