Tonight . . .
5:20pm rolls around and I saw the reminder flier on my fridge that the stake is doing the Relief Society birthday dinner tonight at 6pm. I immediately thought . . . I haven’t showered today . . . my hairs dirt and I have no makeup on . . . I need to make dinner . . . I have to wear a dress! . . . Kevin’s had a long day and is tired . . . and on and on went my thoughts about reasons not to go.
Here is some back ground with my life right now . . . Kevin is working two full-time jobs and is so busy and exhausted. I am spending long hours and late nights trying to get my blog to take off while raising three small children and while trying to keep the house (and myself) put together and clean – most of the time. Lately I have been thinking that something has to give. I just can’t keep this up much longer. I mean I haven’t even had time to change my calendar yet – it still says we are in September.
Well with much encouragement from a loving wonderful husband I went to the meeting and I can’t believe I almost didn’t go. The program was themed, Believe in Who You Are. They began with the song Who You Are by Hilary Weeks. I remembered it from an EFY cd I listened to in high school. The song has much more meaning to me as a mother than it ever did as a teenager. The words that stuck out to me were:
I know you wonder
If you’ll ever have a day
Where the kids stay calm, the laundry’s done
And the dishes are put away
And sometimes you feel like
Your days are spent and gone
And the question running through your mind
Is what have I gotten done
And when you finally have a moment to slow down
At the end of your day I know Father would say
Believe in what you’re doing
Believe in who you are
And hold tight to the truth that you’re a daughter of God
Believe in who you’re becoming, believe in who you are . . .
About a dozen women were asked to each speak for a few minutes on what it means to believe in who you are and how they have come to believe in themselves. The speakers ranged from a widowed mother, age 28, with 4 small children, a women who lowered her standards and the struggles she had to come back to be sealed into the temple, all the way to a mother who has learned to love the journey life is from day to day.
The Spirit in the room was so strong I was scared to breath or move, in case I might disturb someone around me. It caused me to do some serious evaluations on my life. Am I cherishing my husband and children every day I have with them? Am I finding joy in the journey of every day life? Am I believing in myself? . . . I came to the conclusion that I know I am a daughter of God and He loves me! I am a mother of three wonderful little boys that have been given to me to teach, love and nurture. I need to cherish every day I have with them and show them the path to walk to return to Him. Raising my boys to love and know who He is, is the most important thing to do right now in my life. Everything else comes in after that.
Please comment: What are you doing to find joy in the journey of every day life?
Note: To listen to the song you can go to iTunes for a portion of the song or this video on YouTube has the song attached.