Navarro-Conder: California!

Last week the boys, my dad, and I went to California to attend a funeral.
It was a very short trip, but we managed to squeeze in the beach one day.
We went to Zuma beach in Malibu. Driving down the 405 and 101 brought
back a lot of memories. Passing signs that read White Oak Ave., Sylmar, and
San Fernando took me back to my youth. I loved the palm trees, listening to the waves crashing on the shore, and driving through Malibu Canyon. My two youngest who had never been to the beach in their life had a blast. They were in HEAVEN at the beach.

I had a lot of time to reflect on my life- the entire trip - from the drive to California, to the visit at the beach, to the funeral. There's something about funeral services that always make me want to live my life better. I realized how much I have changed through the years, but also how I am still the same in some ways. For example, I still spend a lot of time fixing my hair. I have always fussed over my hair ever since I was a little girl and that will never change. What's different about me - I don't want the same things in a man - that I used to want. I don't give away my kisses freely, and I certainly am not a flirt like I was when I was a teenager. I treasure men who are respectful, kind, and have a pure heart. Although being attractive is a plus, it's not everything. I remember being at Wal-Mart and there was an extremely attractive single man behind me. I turned around to look at him and could feel my face turning red. My temperature started rising. I smiled at him and melted when he smiled back. Then I thought in my head, yeah he's gorgeous, but who is he inside. Of course, I didn't talk to him to find out, but I sure wondered. The "old" me would have flirted. The "new" me is more cautious and reflective. Bad thing - good thing? I don't know. By the way, if he was married I would have felt like a fool flirting with him because you know a lot of married men don't wear their wedding rings. That is one of my biggest pet peeves - married men not wearing their wedding rings. It gives the wrong impression and to me it's disloyalty. So married men out there...wear your wedding rings so us single gals don't look twice. Notice I said twice because we do look once...to see if there's a wedding ring. :-) Ok I am off my soapbox.

As we drove into St. George, on the way back, the most beautiful rainbow filled the sky. I internalized what that rainbow meant to me, it's almost as if God was saying to me, "Remember the promises I made to you... have hope... carry on". To me the rainbow represents promises. The Lord promised to never flood the earth again and the rainbow is the symbol of that promise. The Lord has promised each of us things too, and he never forgets or changes his mind. The promises will be fulfilled in HIS time. I believe the longer the wait, the sweeter the reward will be. I remember a time when the Lord answered my prayers about my future husband by putting a song into my head. I was in the temple at the time and thought it odd that this "wordly" song would come as revelation. The words that came to my mind were "And now you're love is my reward". There were more words, but I won't share them. To me that meant that my future husband's love for me would be my reward. Finally- a reward- for all the injustices, all the bitterness, and heartache. The reward of experiencing that kind of love will be SWEET.

The last thing to share is the class I am taking right now. It's called "How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk or Jerkette". I am learning a lot about relationships and what it takes to have a successful one. I laughed a lot during class, but also got some great information to apply to the relationships in my life. I am looking forward to next week's class. While I'm on the subject of classes - summer school is winding down. I am actually relieved. It's been tough, but I am going to make it.

Happy Summer!