sisters

I love the Relief Society. When I was a young mom, not so much; until I found out that "all those old ladies" were as young at heart as I was. They have taught, tutored, and loved me as I have grown into my role as a woman,wife, and mother.

Saturday I went to our ward Relief Society Birthday lunch. I was rather reluctant to go, as the dustbunnies were having the World Series of baseball and were getting bigger and bigger the longer their game lasted. I wanted to go, but it had been a long week of being gone, and believe me- you knew it the minute you walked into the house. Anyway.... Joss had consented to run a nursery for the mom's who needed one, and she used the most effective motivational technique known to parents everywhere. "It's okay Mom, justt stay home. I HATE it when people make ME do stuff!". I mean, what do you do with that?? The guilt immediately began, and exploded exponentially by the second, and before I knew it, I was in the shower mentally apologizing for again neglecting my housework.

The Relief Society was organized in 1842 by Joseph Smith. The sisters of the church had felt a need for an organization of women to minister to the temporal and spiritual needs of the members, in a way that only women can. In response to this, a revelation was given to Joseph in which much more was promised to the women. Since that time, the priesthood has leaned heavily upon the Relief Society in learning of and meeting the needs of the members. Now the RS reaches out to everyone around the world, whether members of our faith or not.

The picture at the top of this post depicts the meeting where the RS was organized. Now we look like this...

and also this.. and also this.....

Our stake (a larger unit of several congregations) was re aligned a couple of years ago, and so there are many gals in our ward that I still don't know well. Determined to make a new friend, I plopped myself down at a table with 2 of these sisters, Beka and Jenica. Beka and Jenica are young moms with several kidlets, while mine are mostly independent at this point (although they all still live at home). It was so fun gabbing and remembering how fun that stage is. I am so glad we got to laugh. It wasn't too long before the table was full of sisters all laughing and chatting and getting to know each other better. And it was priceless to watch Jenica add parts of her chocolate bar to the top of her cherry cheesecake...it was awesome! She generously shared with all of us. I am still waiting to see your pics of your kicked up ummies Jen!! You will have to ask her how she got stuck on a salad!! hee hee!

Later, I got to thinking about how lucky and blessed we are to be organized into a unit of women. Even though backgrounds,hobbies, styles, and preferences vary, we all have common ground. One by one, we can get things done, but together in a common purpose all things are possible. It is very comforting to know that when one of us is in need, the others are there for them. We have a hymn we sing in church, and I love hearing the sisters sing it together. "The errand of angels is given to women" says it all. Thanks ladies for brightening my life!!