Excuse the following testimonial.
Last Thursday I was a big, brave girl and went to our Relief Society's sewing group for the first time. I went feeling anxious, worried that I would "mess up" someone's machine and feel like an idiot not knowing what I was doing on a simple (emphasize
simple) project in front of a group of life-long sewers. But instead I left feeling energized at having successfully accomplished my task and excited about the new skills I'm gaining.
Perhaps the greatest thing about that night was the sense of unity I felt with the women there -- everyone from the young adult girls learning how to make dresses for the first time, to the former home-ec teacher who brought her friend who desperately needs to learn how to patch her active 5-year-old's jeans (read: me in a few years), to the elderly sister, a master seamstress and quilter, who hosts everyone in her amazing sewing room -- she's feisty and laid back and supportive, just the kind of person I need helping me through something that's really intimidating to me. There was an energy in the room that's hard for me to describe. It may sound cheesy and old-fashioned, but it was really exciting to come together with a group of women of all different ages and experiences to learn skills to meet our needs at that moment. We were there to work, to accomplish, to learn, and in the process we related to each other, we encouraged each other, we laughed together. It was a simple thing, really, but it was one of those things that I fear is dying off in our modern, fast-paced culture that doesn't often see a lot of value in doing something for yourself, learning to be thrifty or self-sufficient. I don't know how to describe what was being accomplished, but it just felt right and good and uplifting.
One of the women there made a great observation at one point in the evening. She said that as women, particularly as mothers, so much of what we do doesn't stay done. It's hard to have a sense of accomplishment when most of what you do day in and day out -- the dishes, the laundry, picking up toys, etc. -- has to be done again the next day. For that reason this sister felt that it's so important for women to have a hobby like sewing in which you can create something that
stays done (Amen, right?!). That thought resonated with me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about what she said and the role of talents and projects in my own life that have helped me to have a sense of accomplishment. I don't think it matters what the interest or project is -- it could be learning to play an instrument, figuring out how to cook or bake something new, taking on a task like sewing, organizing family pictures or working on family history, maybe it's simply working on yourself and getting in shape or finally reading the Bible cover to cover. We really do have that innate desire to accomplish and to fulfill and to create.
So it seemed especially timely that one of my good friends sent me this short video clip that has been posted on the Relief Society's home page. It's about our innate desire to create and features exerpts from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's address at the General Relief Society meeting last fall. I was so uplifted by his talk and excited to see portions of it put together in this short clip. It's less than a couple minutes but I think captures the essence of what I've somewhat awkwardly tried to describe in this post. I'll let President Uchtdorf's thoughts carry the message of what I experienced this last week, because he certainly says it better than I can.
CREATE -- President Uchtdorf
We are winding down after the few fun-filled days we spent with two of Grant's sisters and my cousin Becky. There are lots of pictures to upload and a whirlwind of sights and adventures to blog about, but one of the highlights for me was getting to see Wicked in Portland. It was my first time seeing it, and Grant's first time seeing a Broadway production, and it was OUTSTANDING!! We loved it and can't stop thinking about it or the music. The actress who played Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) was particularly phenomenal. We unfortunately had an understudy for Glinda's role, but she did a really good job, too. What an amazing excursion -- definitely a break in the normal law student family "norm"! We're especially grateful we got to see it here because tickets to the summer showings in Utah sold out in four hours. We didn't even get a chance to think about buying tickets. Lucky for us tickets were easier to come by in Portland.
