Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the General Relief Society Meeting at our Stake building. I also had the privilege of helping out on the food committee for the dinner before the Meeting. Thanks to everyone's efforts on the food committee it went amazingly well. From my understanding, about 250 women were in attendance and we didn't run out of food! It all tasted soooooooo good, and it was well worth the effort from yesterday and today.
Before we had the dinner the Stake Relief Society Presidency had put together a program engulfing the story of the 10 virgins. There were beautiful musical numbers (some even from my ward), scripture readings, quotes, and thoughts about the main topics they had pulled from the story. The spirit was strong and it was a beautiful way to start the evening. After the program we ate the delicious food. I'd have to say my favorite part of the dinner was the dessert. It was beautiful white sour cream wedding cake. Very pure...white frosting and a white rose on top. That is what the majority of the time was spent working on...the amount of time it takes to frost 26 round cakes with frosting in the middle is amazing! But it was well worth the time for the beauty of them all. So elegant!
The piéce de résistance was the Conference. Oh my, how it spoke to my heart. Sister Beck spoke of the importance in reaching out to one another and uplifting one another, for seeking to become closer to God through prayer and reading the scriptures. The one point that stands out in my mind was a story of when she was a young married woman. Her mom was moving away, whom she had always lived near, and she was very downtrodden about this change. In one conversation she asked her mother, "But who's going to be my mom?" And her mother, after great contemplation, said that she would have to look to the sisters in her ward for help and comfort (not in those exact words, but that's the main idea). That was the first time I cried during the meeting. Oh, how I miss my mom and dad. After living so close to them for the 2 1/2 years we were able to, and having to move away, I realize how much I adore them. Mom is the essence of Christlike Love. She is such a great example to me of how to treat people with kindness and to be selfless of her time. She reminds me so much of my Gramma Moore, her mom, in how she makes everyone she comes in contact with feel like they are the most important person on the earth. And my dad, well our ward conference was last Sunday. That's when the tears started falling, too. The Sunday School lesson was on Missionary Work, Dad's big topic is "Every Member a Missionary" as the Stake President. So I really wished he could have been up there giving that lesson. I'm so grateful we, my family, took every advantage we could at being with my mom and dad while we were in SLO. I know I'll see them plenty, but I'm still adjusting to not being able to go over for Sunday dinner, or to always have a party with family when it's someone's birthday (we celebrated a lot of birthdays since we were able to include Brennan and Tracie and their kids (my brother and sister in law)). I'd have to say my sorrow extends to many loved ones...you all know who you are (most of you are to the right of this post)! Eventually the sadness will stop being so ever present...hopefully soon. I have a great friend here, Julie, who keeps me busy and from dwelling on the sad parts of leaving a lot of the time. And I know more friends and surrogate mom's will come eventually, I just have to be patient.
The next speaker was Sister Allred. She spoke of Temple service and worship. I rarely hear in such plain wording the beautiful things that go on inside the temple. I just kept thinking how every person who has not been to the temple, or is not a member of the church, would be able to understand more of what goes on in the temple and that there are great purposes for temples. It kind of gave me a kick in the tush to get to me go to the temple this week (Julie, I may need your help with Logan).
Sister Thompson is such a cute lady. She is a warm and fuzzy type of person. I just felt happier watching her speak. I have brain farted on what her topic was...I'm surprised I've remembered as much as I have so far. :)
The concluding speaker was President Ucktdorf. His humor is greater than I ever imagined. He spoke about how women need to stop being so hard on ourselves, that we need to lose ourselves in service. We need to be there for one another, and find someone in a worse situation than we may be in and help them...and we will find ourselves in a happier mood, too. I felt this come to fruition when the boys and I took cookies I had made to four of our neighbors. One was for the family that invited us over to dinner the day our belongings were moved into the house. One was for the family on the other side of us who share their trampoline and were at the dinner at the other neighbor's house. The third was for the neighbors across the street just newer than us who are expecting their first baby together in a week. I also let the soon to be momma know that I'll be bringing a meal over when their new baby, Blessing (will be her name), has arrived, and the look in her eyes was worth the offer.
The last plate was going to go to another neighbor we'd already met, but they weren't home. So we went to the newest neighbor right across the street and delivered the plate of goodies to them. They are also expecting their first child, she's 5 months along, and it's going to be a boy. It was so nice to talk with them for a while and get to know them a bit. I look forward to getting to know them better, for sure. The next morning I was taking mail to the mail box and there was an envelope in there already. It was from the most recently moved in neighbor thanking us...never expected that. It really does feel good to share and serve others. I can't wait to have all our "new" neighbors and friends over for an open house (if I can ever get the house in order). All in all, this conference was much needed at this point and time in my life. I feel ready to forget myself more. I feel ready to turn to the Lord with my daily life more. I feel more inspired to read my scriptures and to try to be a happier me. I feel there may be a light at the end of the tunnel of my loneliness for "home". I am so grateful for the gospel, for the upliftment it brings into my life. I'm grateful that no matter where I end up living, the gospel will always be the same. There will always be someone around I have a lot in common with merely for the fact that our beliefs are the same. I'm grateful for modern day amenities like phones, email, blogs, video cams, and the means to have and use them. I am mostly grateful for my brother, Jesus Christ, and for his empathy of the pain and sorrow I feel and experience in my life. I know if I can turn my sorrows over to him and my Heavenly Father that I will become the best me I can be for my family, myself, and others around me I may be able to serve.
