Carol was a member of my congregation. She was endearing. Several of her nieces and nephews said that she loved them like each one was her favorite. She loved them differently, just as they needed to be loved. Isn’t that beautiful?
I think I will keep the decorations up for a few days.
It was a rainy Monday. Mark went grocery shopping with me and brought his magic 8 ball for car entertainment. He tells me the ball is about 90% accurate.
I still like Mondays best, even rainy ones.
I took some time to decorate the house for spring today. I rediscovered this drawing as I went through pictures and frames. This was Paige 19 years ago at Easter time. I hung this on the wall of her quiet room. It made me smile.
I took a couple of shots of our RS birthday party as it was winding down and some people had already gone home. To get everyone to smile, I told them I was printing these pictures to give to a sister in a care facility. That’s love you see in their smiling faces.
We played games and there was a trivia contest about Relief Society history. Each month in 2017 we are providing service for the refugees in our community. Last month, we prepared over 70 kits with cleaning and hygiene supplies. This month, our sisters donated around 100 reusable shopping bags. We watch for needs on the Serve Refugees app and advertise them. Many sisters can’t attend activities at night, but they can participate in this service, and they do. The evening was light and happy. It was good.
Mark and Richard worked very hard on this final car for the Ross family pit crew. They decided that they would be happy no matter the outcome. Their goal was to design a car that looked awesome. When the car got 4th place, it was a nice ending for a great time together.
Today I celebrate Relief Society, the women’s organization in my Church. I’m not celebrating the stuffy idea of women in a classroom with a tablecloth, not the trite definition of women getting together to gab over quilt frames, but the full measure of power for good in the women of the Church.
Every year, my definition of Relief Society grows. It is about so much more than we usually acknowledge.
If you learned Primary songs, attended a Youth Conference, heard a choir, went to Sunday school, listened to prelude music before a meeting, attended Cub Scout den meetings and youth activities, you have been blessed by the sisters of Relief Society. If you were taught by sister missionaries, you have a special window into the heart of Relief Society sisters.
If you have received a meal when a family member has been sick, eaten at a funeral luncheon in an LDS meeting house, had visiting teachers in your home, or received cookies from your Mormon neighbor, you have been touched by the Relief Society.
If you have a collection of Young Women handouts, a baptism towel, or a blanket made by a Relief Society sister, you have evidence of the time women are willing to put into their responsibilities.
If you have served in any ward council, stake presidency, youth committee, Primary calling, Cub Scouting, or have been a Bishop, you have learned from sisters in the Relief Society. If you have children who attend nursery, Primary, or Young Women meetings, you will find the Relief Society sisters in action. If you have a daughter living away from home, you feel comfort knowing she has a Relief Society president who knows her name. If you have a child who doesn’t attend church, you have probably prayed that someone would reach out to them. Sisters try to be the answer to such prayers every day.
It would be difficult to find a member of the Church who has not been touched by the kindness, knowledge, or testimony of a Relief Society sister.* Much kindness also extends to people not of our faith. It would be easy to find faults with individual members of Relief Society. We are full of faults, and one of them is the idea that we will never be able to do enough good. This is a lie that many of us combat daily. It’s impressive how much we can attribute to the women of the Church, however, serving in their callings and personal ministries, in their studies, and in their acts of faith in Christ, who strengthens them.
If you are thinking of a Relief Society sister who has touched your life, write to her or call her and tell her thank you. She probably won’t remember the thing she did that made a difference to you, but what else would you expect from a woman who is doing so much good in the world?
*In the time that it took to write this post, a woman from my Relief Society (my visiting teacher) stopped by to give me a plant and share some laughs. Another stopped by with some lip balm to put in a care package for a woman who is living away from home. Richard, who is camping with the Scouts called to say that he didn’t need to worry about dinner plans because a woman from our Relief Society surprised them and brought stew, lemon bars, and eclairs for dinner.
I read a memoir this week, one with a similar style to the book I was going to write in 2015. I knew it would be emotional for me to read this book because it would awaken the ache to write my own story.
At the bookstore, I bought a stack of copies of this book to give to friends. When the cashier saw them, she said the cover was beautiful. I agreed, and then she asked if I was the author.
I was completely affected by this. “No,” I stammered.
“But I should be,” I thought.
The same day someone invited me to a writing retreat. I didn’t dare say yes. But I took it as another sign.
That evening I was surprised by my tears when I told Richard how I ache to write. He just said, “It’s a good thing I just ordered you a new laptop. It arrives tomorrow. That should help.”
Mark enjoys art class each week, even if it means lots and lots of pencil strokes for dog hair.
I have kept almost every piece of art the kids have created over the years. It’s one of my favorite collections. I keep thinking I will do something special with it, but it hasn’t happened yet. I will probably take pictures of the pieces and make a book for each of them on Shutterfly so I can have a copy, too.
Until then, I enjoy having a child who still brings home drawings for me to put on the refrigerator.
The kitchen is the workshop for the last pinewood derby car. It’s my contribution to the process that I look away and not see the mess, but the building of a little man.
One sweet detail from this car is that Timothy arranged to cut it out for Mark in his school woodshop.
The unveiling will happen in a few days. Until then, imagine flames, shiny ebony, and a red dome… All of this, and speed. Thursday is the big day.