My love for lemons and when life gives you them!

Hey guys, if you follow me on Instagram then you know that I went to Utah this past weekend to celebrate my hubby’s little bro’s wedding. The interesting thing is my brother-in-law currently lives with his bride in Hawaii, the location where lots of people dream to get married.. and yet for them, they decided to have a destination wedding in Utah.. Possibly the hottest and driest place on earth! No offense and yes I am half kidding. I’m sure there’s one or 2 places possibly hotter! HAHA. But seriously it was in the triple digits all day and we northern Californians aren’t used to this. But this was the brides home town so I don’t think that counts as a destination wedding, does it? Idk. Whatever the case, the heat didn’t take away from how beautiful the wedding was!

Anyway, on our 12 hour drive to Utah, we decided to stop one day in Las Vegas since my husband has never been. On the way, we did a quick stop to Target for some snacks and of course I hit the decor aisle. There has been this lemon wreath that I have been in search for since I almost bought one by my hubby’s work many months ago and passed on it that day just to realize for some reason every time after that the wreaths weren’t in stock. I’m assuming it’s not a very popular item or something. But y’all know me and my love for citrus erthang! Anyway, I did stumble on this wreath in a Vegas Target and you already know I was doing my happy dance.. Well, not really but my heart was. Ha!

So is this post really about this wreath?? Kinda.. Well, it’s so cute right?! But, because of this trip, every time I look at this wreath I think “when life gives you lemons”.. because, well, we kinda got hit with some…
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So.. the plan for this trip was to hit up Las Vegas for 1 night. Then arrive in Utah in time to do some afternoon activities with the bridal party (oh did I mention my whole fam, kids included were in the bridal party?) including lunch and mani’s for the ladies and atv rides and things for the guys. FUN right? Then haircuts for the fam before the rehearsal dinner.. Then of course the wedding day that was a whole days event.. One day of rest, followed by a 2 day trip for the sweet kiddies to Disneyland/ California Adventure. Sounds like a busy and fun-filled week, right?! Well totally.. Except remember those lemons?? Well one huge one got thrown our way and it definitely was a large one. LOL. So it was our bright idea to load our car 1:30am in Vegas, since we had to leave by 8am to make it to Utah in time for the festivities.. Well, that idea turned lemony sour when we got to our cars that morning only to find 2 windows completely shattered and all our things stolen! Yep.. That’s 5 luggages containing pretty much everything.. But praise the lord, all the clothes for the wedding was still in its garbage bag laying on the chair a bit tousled. Looks like the “bad guys” as my kids called them, had no interest in a garbage bag filled with random dressy attire. Oh and remember this wreath I purchased, well, that was totally wreaked too.. But with a little tlc, I put her back together better than when I first bought it!

The interesting thing is I noticed right away that my kids looked to us to see how they ought to react and in that moment, God granted us the peace to not fall apart.. Yes we’re human and of course we were disappointed and definitely felt violated, but I think my kids saw in that moment when dad told them that the bible already warned us about thieves, they steal.. like it says in Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” What a lesson not just for my kids but for me also, to store treasures in the right place. In the next verse it says “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal”. Here, the bible tells us the right place to store our treasure is in heaven. By heaven, it’s in the life to come with Christ in eternity, and that includes investing our time and money on these things. Even though this thief came and robbed our things, they couldn’t rob us of the joy we have in Christ! And though, it was in a not so ideal circumstance, my kids were able to witness a tangible example of the wickedness in this world and even in our own hearts, and that a life in Christ brings much joy and nothing can take that away, even circumstances such as these!

I’d like to say the trip got brighter from there.. But it really stayed a little on the rough side.. A lot of time was lost just having to fix things, replace things needed and even rushing caused me to accidentally get peroxide in my eye putting my contacts on, leaving me with a bright red eye for the next 2 days (to give you a bit of a better picture of how rough).. To being soo dead tired the whole Disney trip.. It was really a rough time.. But as we drove home and the sun was setting, I reflected on our vacation, and asked the Lord what was the lesson over the whole trip.. And God really made it clear, for one, don’t leave important items and goods in your car and if you do, hide them!! lol! But more importantly, my life is in His hands, and though life may have “lemons” along the way, my life is secure and grounded in Christ, He is my hope!
Psalm 62:5-7: “My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Though this experience was a bit rough for me and the hubby, I can assure you, we still had a blast and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and had such a memorable time! My little 3-year-old was tall enough actually to hit most of the rides, so that definitely made the trip a bit sweeter! I hope today, if you have faced any lemons in your life, any rough times, you too, would have Christ as your rock and your hope! He invites all to come and find rest in Him! Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share my heart! Hope you’re all enjoying the start to a new month! Talk with you soon!! XO