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 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.
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.
So far, my 2017 has been about rededication about my use of time. It’s been about simple things like putting my phone down and keeping it on silent. It’s been longer and deeper study of the Book of Mormon each day. I gave up some screen habits that have been numbing me to what is going on.
Along with my feelings of needing to rededicate my life to good things, it has been a rocky few months at home. We have some family concerns which seemed to justify the creeping notion that it is impossible to be a good wife and mother and be a good Relief Society president at the same time.
Things are getting better now, some simple truths having won out.
On Sunday as I partook of the sacrament, it became clear to me that it’s a lie that it’s impossible to be a good wife and mother and serve in the Church.
The truth is, the Lord just needs my dedication to living commandments and for me to give simple acts of love and he will work miracles. I have seen many.
People feel my love when all I can do is pray for them each day.
Deep scripture study has given me answers to impossible questions and helped me articulate answers to dilemmas in meetings.
I have felt a heightened awareness of who I need to talk to, sometimes based on a simple expression on a face and no verbal cues.
I have felt the power and influence of good counselors and a secretary to know who to serve each week.
Writing a short note has been a powerful way to communicate with those who are not open to a visit or when I can’t visit. Short notes don’t take much time. They just require love.
The names, direction, and action items that come to my mind when I partake of the sacrament on Sunday are incredibly accurate. When I act on these impressions, I see that God is making me a better wife and mother, minister, and witness.
Next to my relationship with God, being a wife and mother is my most important work. As I improve my relationship to God and family, I feel more confident in my church service. There is no way to measure a person’s influence for good in the lives of others, but I believe it grows as I draw closer to the Lord. I am grateful to a few friends who reassured me of this on Sunday. I feel a new energy to keep trying.
F is for February. It is also for:
Failure: I missed some cues and regret it.
Fun: trip to St George, Lego movie
Friendships: broken heart
Fitness: racquetball
Flurries: snow this week
Faith: my lesson topic in Relief Society
Food: turkey and mashed potatoes; oven s’mores
Forgiveness: an essential key to resilience
Funny: joke shop in Payson, UT
Facebook: I’m not looking at it.
Fever: a couple of kids sick
Finally: My Christmas present on back-order arrived.
Forty-six: Richard’s birthday is this weekend.
Fantastic: the boys’ piano pieces
Finger: Paige’s finger is still broken but making progress
Fine: Everything is going to be OK.
Today when I saw how we were dressed, I knew we couldn’t let the opportunity slip away to take a picture.
A more accurate picture of this presidency would include Charlene laughing, Cindy in gentle, quiet conversation, Kristy making calls and carrying sign-up sheets, and me finding a scripture to match a comment made by someone in the class or asking nosy questions. Another would be sitting around my kitchen table on Tuesday nights going over Compassionate service needs and visiting teaching routes. It would be all of us in Charlene’s car driving around to visits. It would be of us working together, and also separately to reach out to as many sisters as we can each week.
If I could go back in time, I would take more pictures with the people I have served with in presidencies and classes, packs and camps. I know we won’t have this relationship forever, so I am savoring the lessons they teach me and the good times together.
We got so much snow last weekend that we thought we would document it. The snow plows always make a large pile in front of our yard, but this is the biggest we have ever seen.
Richard is camping! with the Scouts in this stuff. I sometimes feel grumpy about all he has to do because I wouldn’t enjoy doing those things. However, I think he likes most of the life of a Scoutmaster. Maybe I am a little grumpy because I miss him, too.
This week I fielded calls and texts every day about people being sick and meeting their needs. If I stop to think, I can feel overwhelmed by so many needs. Mid-week, I got a call from the YW saying they were going to make a whole bunch of freezer meals for the Relief Society. Hooray for the army of women and young women who do so much to help others. On Thursday I met with our quilt group to see the quilt we made for a sister with cancer. We always have the biggest turnout at quilt group when there is a service project to do. It is a tribute to the hearts of the women that service activities are always full.
Have you downloaded the Serve Refugees app yet? In Salt Lake there is a need for JoAnn gift cards for a sewing class that is now in session. This is an easy, meaningful way to help a refugee become self-sufficient today. I am thinking that a small note from you or your children, encouraging a vulnerable refugee woman would go perfectly with a gift card.
You can mail gift cards to:
Utah Refugee Connection, 6440 South Wasatch Blvd., Suite 100, Salt Lake City, UT, 84121
This Advent activity on LDS.org is a beautiful thing and I am going to follow it each day, but if I decide to share what I do, it will be in vague terms. Today to “lift a burden” I spent time on hold with customer service to fix something for a family member and visited someone who was in bed. I feel my life is pretty standard and not exemplary in any way, but I still feel God’s involvement in the details, and that means so much to me.
My craft room shelves are full of soft, colorful, whimsical gifts for Christmas. I wish I could post some pictures, but my projects are top secret. This year I am giving to my brother Joe and his kids. The goal is comfort and joy for this precious, buffeted family. As November turns to December, and until Christmas, you will find me embroidering and hand sewing in the late evenings. Heaven.
Last night I gathered with my presidency to package our Christmas and 2017 birthday gifts for the sisters in our ward. The Christmas gifts are not quite ready to show, but the birthday gifts are ready. We will give each sister one of these lip balm packages on her birthday. They are so pretty. Richard helped me make the labels to stick on these little jars that we ordered from Bulk Apothecary. I found the “Charity Never Faileth” graphic on Pinterest. These gifts are less than a dollar each with packaging.
