Tonight was the General Relief Society Meeting and the first one that girls 8 and older were invited to attend, and will be from here on out. Seeing so many moms with their daughters there tonight was powerful and I can't wait for the opportunity to take mine. I can see why the youth 8 and older are now invited to come because the youth, even at such a young age, are facing more and more adversity and temptations and because Satan is working harder, so must we. The whole meeting was centered around being a covenant keeping people and that is how we will protect our homes. We need each other as sisters to lift each other and to have to deep emotional connections. Within these last couple years I feel like I have been lacking those connections because it is hard to find women even within the church that have the same spiritual convictions; it's hard work to keep a testimony strong; it's hard on a day to day basis to recognize the Holy Ghost sometimes, but it is worth it.
Every General Conference I start to feel this way, the fire within me is refueled and I want to share the gospel and shout it on the roof tops but how can I do this when there is so much that needs to be done under those roof tops. It is around this time that I begin to reflect on how much I enjoy life because of the blessings the gospel brings to me and then my heart is heavy for those who once shared those same blessings but have forgotten, especially family members. Living so close to my in-laws, I feel that they are as much apart of me as my own family, sometimes closer because we have more interaction with them. Every conference I want to invite my sis-in-laws to go with me but don't because I'm afraid I know what the answer will be. This year I finally mustard up the courage and got the answer that I figured. The only one that responded to my invitation flat out gave me a lie for an excuse. I really don't mind going to things by myself - it doesn't bother me at all. In fact I often prefer it because I feel like I get more out of it. But sitting there alone tonight really broke my heart knowing what they were all missing out on.
As I listened to Pres. Eyring, I couldn't help but think about how easy it is to recognize others short-comings and it breaks my heart because I know the quality of life is so much better when you keep the commandments and life is so much more enjoyable when you can rejoice in those blessings with others who are keeping the commandments. I surely hope the Lord will likewise help me to recognize my short-comings because there may be blessings I am missing out on that I am not aware of and maybe my quality of life could be better than I know. I did take comfort knowing that if Mary Lou were alive she would have been sitting next to me tonight. I am grateful for the connections I do have and the friends that lift me up.
