Lemonade from Lemons Mommy Style
We’ve all done it – you know, made a bad situation better. We pull out our “Mommy Capes” and race head-long into trouble with a prayer that the Lord will help us figure it out, and quick!
The one incident that comes immediately to mind is the time we planned to go river rafting in North Florida, in early August. The national park was beautiful and we had enjoyed a wonderful weekend of camping. Other than my children getting in trouble for feeding the deer with my delicious fruit salad, the week-end had gone without a hitch. The weather was hot but beautiful under the shade trees and if you wonder – yes, we have air-conditioning in our “pop-up” trailer, a microwave and mini-frig.
This camping trip included my brother and his wife. She wasn’t the camping type but then, I assured her either was I! I knew she would enjoy it if she just gave it a try. Well, that was before the river-rafting trip.
We had just rented our large rafts from what we thought was a reputable place and two minutes down the road my brother’s raft was flat as a pancake atop his SUV. We called to alert him of the fact and we both pulled over to the shoulder. A quick trip back to the seller, with us following, yielded disappointing results. The vendor would not replace the raft nor refund our money. What to do! We had paid cash. The weather at that point looked ominous and the rain clouds were pouring in at an alarming rate. This park was 8 hours from where I lived so a trip back would not happen in the near future. The kids knew this.
I felt the Lord had protected us from being out on the river in a bad storm. I had peace.
My brother and sister-in-law, not so much.
They ranted at the sales person and it was so bad, my husband walked back to our car. I had stayed in the car with the kids and began to lead them in a prayer. For our disappointment, and for this unethical vendor!
We had already packed up our gear, and after the rafting trip we had planned to head home. It appeared our trip home would begin a bit earlier than we planned. I called my brother (whatever would we do without cell phones) and told him it was futile. This wasn’t the type of business you could report to a business bureau! My brother finally convinced his wife to let it go, and we were on the road again. The kids were disappointed, yes we could have continued without my brother but then it was not setting a good example. Family sticks together.
He who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness and honor. Proverbs 21:21.
I asked my brother to meet us on a particular exit that I knew had soft-serve ice-cream and I alerted the children that a surprise was in store up-ahead. Ice-cream is not an equal substitute for river-rafting, but they saw the benefit. It was nothing as opposed to something! By this time my sister-in-law and brother had calmed down and they realized the storm was heading our way rapidly and we definitely would be drenched if we had ventured out into the river.
Big hugs from my kids and a thank-you made it all better – for me anyway.
This situation is something I’ve wanted to share with others, but the opportunity never came up until now! I’m speaking at the Mommy Jammies Night, with host, LaToya Edwards on February 11 at 9PM. The link will be posted here after the event. For now – visit the Mommy Jammies Night page for details.
How have your turned a bad situation into a good one? Share with us! We all need the encouragement.
I can’t take any credit for this one, but the story that came to my mind when I read yours was when God turned a bad situation into a beautiful one through the love of a friend. My mother, sister, and I had all spent the day grocery shopping in a town about an hour away from our home. The prices are better there, as is the selection. At the end of a long day, right before we planned on picking up the perishable groceries and heading home, the car died. Completely. We we were stuck in a parking lot after dark. We called AAA and requested a tow truck whose driver had room for three passengers. We had to get someplace where we could stay – or at least that was well lit! The driver came, and he did not have room for all of us. Since splitting up seemed like a worse idea, we walked from the parking lot to another store just down the strip of stores and shopping centers. This one was a 24-hour one, so at least we could sit inside while we tried to figure out what to do. The garages were closed (and did I mention it was a weekend)? We were outside of whatever range the nearest rental car place would service. Extended family lived an hour away and was already committed to work that night. I thought of a friend from Bible study. She lived about half an hour from where we had broken down. I called her, in tears by this time. I sputtered something about being broken down and told her where I was. I asked if she could please come pick us up. She said, “Of course I’ll come get you; who are you?” In my blubbering, I had failed to tell her who was calling. She later told me she figured whoever was calling had to be someone she knew – after all, they had her phone number. Her kindness, and the smile that fills my heart every time I remember her response, made that a shopping trip I will never forget.
I absolutely love this! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
What a great story!! I’m so encouraged by a mother’s willingness to pray in a tense and disappointing situation, and I feel that it is probably because of that prayer that the Lord directed you to a more positive outcome!! I have made “lemonade from lemons” many times when we have had difficult days at home. Sometimes the children’s bickering is just too much, or I’m just too stressed with a lot of things going on, and I’ll just swoop the kids away and take them to the beach. I LOVE being outdoors, and something about the sand and the water is just completely calming for my boys. It’s sort of a “refuge” for us all just to GO and BE. We always end up really enjoying each other, and just the calmness of the Lord, and the beauty of His splendor displayed in all the earth!
Great example for your kids to see.
Love listening to Felice and looking forward to this talk today or listening to the rest on Podcast later. Our lives have turned in a direction we would not choose obviously but trying to make the best of it each day.
I’m so bummed that I missed it tonight! Thank you for the encouraging word!
Nice article. Sorry I missed the event. Perhaps next time. Thanx for sharing this!