What I needed to hear

Tonight I got the opportunity to attend the General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. I'm so glad I was there because otherwise, I'm sure I wouldn't have been watching. Throughout the day, while taking care of really sick Charlie, I held a prayer in my heart that one of the messages would be an answer to some of my recent prayers. I was not disappointed.
The RS presidency gave excellent talks as usual, but the real treat came with President Uchtdorf's talk. I'm not sure what this talk will be titled, but I hope all of you will look it up (when it's posted) on http://www.lds.org/ if you were unable to somehow listen to it today. He started off talking about how men and women are different and how women tend to be horrible critics of themselves. He told a sweet story about how his wife will prepare a beautiful feast for dinner, putting in an extra mile's worth of effort to make it perfect. Yet, she'll start the meal with an apology for something minute that could be wrong with it! Then he shared how he'll make greasy fried eggs and burnt "toast" and consider himself a hero!!! So sweet. Anyway, then he began to tell us that we, as women, tend to minimize ourselves and the things we're able to accomplish in a given day. Sometimes we find ourselves so discouraged, overwhelmed, and afraid of our potential to fail.

He spoke of the type of happiness we need to shoot for... God's happiness. Two fundamental principles of God's happiness is creation and compassion. He encouraged us to find ways to create. Creating is making something that didn't exist before. It doesn't have to be done in the kitchen or with a paintbrush or on a piano, it can be something as simple as creating a smile on someone's face. This portion of his talk gave me so much peace and encouragement. It made me grateful to have a few creative outlets that fill my soul. I sometimes worry that my stamping and paper crafting is selfish, but it's something that gives me satisfaction and helps me feel like I'm allowed to enjoy parts of my life. All my recent canning is also creative! I made something that didn't exist before and it will eventually bless my family. I'm grateful to know that by doing some of these things, I'm feeling part of God's happiness!

Other thoughts I had as he was talking was that if there is a part of my life that I'm feeling overwhelmed with, I should put some extra effort into making it more creative. For example, I hate cooking. I don't understand people who love cooking! But to be honest, I've never even tried to make an amazing dish or one to take pride in. I'm not sure that if I do put in more effort that I'll begin to love it, but I should at least try. There are also lots of things that I could be doing to be more creative with my children. I do need to recognize that I'm working hard to CREATE a loving home for my boys, but (without beating myself up) I realize I could be doing more to create positive, lasting memories for them that they can carry throughout their lives. This last week, Paul and I have been blessed with a precious gift... PERSPECTIVE, and this talk added to it. I'm so very blessed to be the mother of three amazing little boys, and whether we're given the opportunity to add to our family in the future or not, I've got one shot at these little one's childhoods. I would love to feel more of God's happiness as I put more of myself (my creative abilities and compassion) into my husband and boys.

So, if you haven't heard the talk yet, look it up... read it in the ensign... whatever you need to do. There's a treasure trove of the Spirit in President Uchtdorf's words. I hope they help you as much as they did me!