Women's Conference

Thursday evening, we had our Stake Women's Conference, and we were blessed to have Ardeth G. Kapp as our guest speaker. I was so excited to hear her speak, because one of her talks, Just the Two of Us - for Now, touched me quite deeply, and helped me have perspective when dealing with infertility. After reading that talk (which my dear friend Alex sent to me, thank you Alex, you blessed my life immensely by sending it), Sister Kapp became one of my heroes from afar. So it was delightful to hear her speak on Thursday. And she was every bit as lovely as I imagined. She gave a wonderful talk about the power of women, how we shouldn't demean ourselves, how the Savior offers peace unto each one of us, and how we can make a difference in the world, and in fact are making a difference just by living our lives in accordance with the gospel. Her talk was full of gems, like the idea that the scriptures are "letters from home," and the truth that a group of women working together for a cause is a force to be reckoned with. I also really enjoyed her story of a missionary who always remembered when he was 4 years old and bonked his head on the edge of a table, and his mother enfolded him in her arms and said, "There, there." It's such a simple thing, and it's a scene that plays out all day long over here, but he remembered it all these years later, and it gave him comfort after a long day of missionary work. I especially liked when she said, "Do you think that mother wrote in her journal that night, 'Today I comforted my little boy and taught him what our Heavenly Father's love feels like. He'll remember this when he is on a mission.' Of course not!" Such a glorious thought, to remember that our work is important, even if it seems insignificant. I think the meeting touched me even more than it normally would have because Thursday had been one of those days. I was just feeling like I wasn't being a good mother, and what a boring life, and Julia wasn't being a good sleeper, yadda yadda yadda. It was less than wonderful. But after the meeting I felt so rejuvenated, so ready to tackle all the sleepless nights and bumped heads with a smile on my face, because I am a daughter of God! I have worth! And I am involved in a marvelous work!

There was also some beautiful music, and I got to be a part of that. I sang a solo as part of the prelude, and I was amazed at the number of women who told me how beautiful it was. Seriously, someone came up to me at church yesterday from the other ward to tell me that she enjoyed it. What a self-esteem booster! But honestly, I'm certain that most of the beauty was in the song and the spirit of the meeting, which is exactly how it should be.