I just got home from our ward's Relief Society commemoration dinner (aka Relief Society birthday party) which I was in charge of. Holy Cow. I am not a natural-born event planner; I don't do well with big productions that have a huge deadline. This past week and day have been especially intense as there have been a million last minute preparations to make. BUT. It went so so well. When I showed up this afternoon to set up before the dinner, I walked in the gym and what I saw took my breath away. My neighbor Nikki had done all the table decor/centerpieces and it looked so beautiful. I went in another room and shed tears of gratitude. I know that would have made her uncomfortable had she seen me crying over her decorations (which is why I left the room). It might be silly to cry about decorations. But they were so pretty and she worked so hard on them and they were so perfect and special and I didn't have to worry about it being done so it was just this load off my shoulders. I'm so sad I didn't take a picture but I was under pressure to run the show so that did not cross my mind.
Our theme for the evening was "Circle of Sisterhood". Our ward is a brand new ward that was created by taking a part of 2 wards and forming a new one. I felt like unity was an important focus as there is a geographic separation between the 2 merged sections in our ward: the people in an area called "the cove" (which used to be in Cove Ward) and the people "on the hill" (that used to be in 11th ward). My main goal of the evening was to have every sister feel apart of this organization no matter who they are or where they live, and to know they are loved! Every lady completes our circle in some way. Everyone has different strengths and talents that they bring. I've thought a lot lately about this and how each person needs to figure out who they are, what they can contribute and do just that. It is too easy to look at other people and long for their qualities. When we embrace ourself and our unique personality, our talents will increase and we can move forward and serve others so much better.
I am 34 now. I celebrated my birthday last Saturday! When I was 18, I thought I had everything figured out. With each passing year, I realize I have more and more to learn and I am not as cool as I thought I was. This past year was a trying one. I have been stretched. However, it was a wonderful year of service for me. I have learned just how much joy and peace that service brings to my life. I've learned just how much our Father in Heaven cares about the one. I learned so much about myself and how I react in stressful situations. Many of my weaknesses have surfaced over the past year. I have a lot of them. A few of them are: I am super spacey and forget things almost instantly, I am impatient with my kids, I talk too much without thinking first, I zone out a lot, I get distracted too easily, and my most annoying flaw is that I'm slow. I'm slow to get ready in the morning, I'm slow to complete any task, I'm slow to make decisions.
But I have a lot of talents. I love everyone and see the good in people. I love to serve. I am a hard worker and always like to do my best. I am cheerful and optimistic. I'm good with money. I am a peacemaker. I am creative, and I am a problem solver. I'm also independent which is sometimes a weakness. I like to do things for myself and take care of myself. I have a hard time asking for help from anyone, even my husband and kids. It is one of the reasons I am slow, because I try to do everything at once by myself so it takes me way longer to accomplish the one thing I set out to do because I tried to do 5 other things
while I did the first thing. Not liking to ask for help means I do most of the housework because I hate bugging people to help. I always have to remind myself that it is their house too, and I shouldn't feel guilty bugging them. My kids do have chores but they should probably have more.
So how do I plan and carry out an entire Relief Society dinner and program without asking for help? I don't. I had to ask many many people to help and it was so hard for me but I knew I couldn't do it all even though I tried to do a lot. It was a great experience and I saw and felt God's helping hand and guidance through the whole process. I truly love being apart of the Relief Society and I love the sisters. Being the R.S. coordinator is a big job! It is stretching me to be more than I am. And hopefully I can reach someone using the abilities God has given me.
When we were cleaning up after the activity tonight, the 2nd counselor in the bishopric came and got me and took me into the bishop's office where the whole bishopric and executive secretary were sitting. I wondered what they would possibly do or say after such a wonderful activity had just been carried out...
The bishop said, "We have an idea for an activity we would like your help with. We want to hold a Pinewood Derby where the Relief Society sisters build and race the cars and the brethren provide the potluck meal."
WHOA. Did not see that coming!
Now I must go and collapse into bed!
My neighbor did a pie crust demonstration and I learned a lot! It was super entertaining to watch her do something she was so good at and see her reaction when people asked her questions that to her were no-brainers. Also at our meeting we talked about a few Thanksgiving and Christmas ideas. We challenged the sisters to do 24 Days of Giving during December and gave them little cards to put into their advent calendars so that each day before Christmas, they could do a service with their families. My kids will love this and it will give more meaning to this season that we celebrate Christ's birth. I have been given so much by Him and our Father in Heaven; this is a small way I can give something to show my gratitude. Should be the best Christmas yet!
Dax and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! That seems like a lot of years. Having my anniversary in November is perfect because as I think of what I'm grateful for, this guy tops the list every time.
We ate at Mi Casa and saw the high school play Shrek: The Musical. I love having a daughter old enough to babysit! Add that to my list of thankfuls.
By the way: Dax's chile verde pork was SUPERB. The Christmas lights look beautious. The plant shelf in my bathroom is drying and will be photographed soon! Grateful for Saturdays at home! Grateful to get the lights up and the tramp down before it rained/snowed this afternoon..JPG)
