Pillars of Strength

This past weekend I was invited to go to Time Out For Women. I laughed when I finally realized that it was indeed a time out for women.

I wish my two year old enjoyed his time outs as much as I enjoyed mine.

One speaker really stuck out to me. She talked about making a difference. As I have pondered on this the last few days, I wanted to share a little bit about the women that have made significant differences in my life.

These are they: (They are all related to me....I am one LUCKY girl)

Sherrie J is FAITH. “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21).

If you asked me to sacrifice my eternal companion for three, four, or five months out of the year (or more) I can’t say I would be a cheerful giver. Sherrie, mother of four, has dedicated her life to being a wife and mother. From her own journal of sorts she has said, “How grateful I am for these sacrifices that are still being made to keep my family and this great nation safe. Sacrifices that are not unfamiliar to me. Sacrifices that affected my family directly. My husband has gone to fight in this war, on multiple occasions. I know what it is like to try and struggle as a single mom, trying to make things work while he was gone. Trying to comfort children while you feel like your own heart is breaking.”
And yet, without a perfect knowledge of the future, she continues to hold on to the faith that as long as she does her best, the Lord will bless her and her family. From her I have learned the importance of enduring with faith. I LOVE YOU Sherrie!

Becky Jo H is DIVINE NATURE. “Be partakers of the divine nature.... Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:4–7).

Becky Jo has so much passion. But the thing I love about her is that she has dedicated her life to being a wife and a mother. I have watched and learned so much from Becky. She and I are similar in so many ways, (which consequently has gotten us into trouble a few times…heehee) but today I feel strongly, the need to express my love for her. Through the brain surgeries and C-sections (at the same time), diagnosis of autism in one of her daughters, and the uncertainty of where her family would go next, Becky has shown an incredible amount of patience; a quality I wish I could have more of. She has researched every book, magazine, and web page that she can to learn about how to take the best care of her family. With everything she has been asked to endure, the things she talks about the most are face cuddles, snuggles, and what a spectacular family she has. She has written, “I love being a Mom! We are so proud of Brett. We are so blessed.” From her I have learned the importance of counting my many blessings. I LOVE YOU Becky Jo!

Tina B is INDIVIDUAL WORTH. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the
sight of God”(D&C 18:10).

Tiny is the perfect woman. She is faithful, righteous, pure, humble and beautiful. She is without guile and withholds judgment. She loves perfectly. I am certain that if the Savior came today, she would be invited to stand by his side because of her goodness. She carries with her a feeling of peace that stays with you when she leaves. Her profession as a nurse suits her because she is able to continually look outside of herself and see the needs of others. She knows who she is as a child of a loving Heavenly Father and she wants to share that with everyone. She and Dan love to laugh because they are happy. I love that they spend a whole car ride going back and forth about the things they are grateful for, or spending the whole car ride smiling until someone just breaks down and laughs. She can do that, because she knows who she is. From her I have learned the importance of enjoying to the end. I LOVE YOU Tiny!

Darci B is KNOWLEDGE. “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith”(D&C 88:118).

I am a firm believer that my mom is better than she thinks she is. She, like many women, is too hard on herself, and often forgets the impact she has had on so many. About my mom, I believe firmly the words of a sealer in the Manti Temple who said, “the purest form of revelation is a righteous woman’s intuition.” Today, I hope to add my love and adoration for a woman who has listened for the whisperings of the Spirit and heeded the promptings. This has allowed her to be a savior in the midst of thousands of children for the past 30 years. More specifically it allowed her to raise four children who all served honorable missions and married in the temple. I have felt the love of my mom in my loneliest hours and my happiest moments. It is from her that I gained a love of teaching. It is from her that I gained my orneriness, my passion, and my very good looks. It is from her that I have learned the importance of always being anxiously engaged in a good cause. I LOVE YOU Mookie!

Rebecca B is Choice and Accountability. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve….but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”(Joshua 24:15).

When she joined the church, some of her family was not pleased with her decision. She wrote me a letter when I was serving a mission and said, “I had a choice to make between my earthly father and my Heavenly Father. Duh! Which one do you think I chose?” Rebecca has gone on to serve a mission, marry a very handsome boy (my baby brother) in the temple, graduate from BYU-Hawaii, and start a PhD in Texas right along side her sweetheart. It is from her that I have gained an understanding of how the choices we make now DO affect us for the rest of our lives. Thank you for making such eternally good choices. I LOVE YOU Beck the Heck!

Tammy J is GOOD WORKS. "Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:16).

She has done an incredible job raising her children. I am so grateful that my husband has been raised by a faithful daughter of God, who understands her purpose here. It is from his mom that my husband learned to serve with his whole heart. I have seen her goodness every time I am with her. There has never been a time I have been to her home that she is not letting someone move in with her, cooking for someone, driving somebody to an appointment, babysitting, teaching seminary, talking for hours to the lonely, doing visiting teaching, or serving in ways that not all are willing to do. (She LOVES serving as Stake Camp Director and Nursery Leader. Seriously) I have often been the recipient of her goodness. I especially am grateful for the prayers she has offered for our family. If I could grow up and be half as good as she is, I think I might make it. It is from her that I hope to learn the joy of serving to the end. I LOVE YOU Mom J!

Amy B is INTEGRITY. "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me” (Job 27:5).

I recently read the following, “integrity is a matter of persons integrating various parts of their personality into a harmonious, intact whole.” Amy is my perfect example of integrity. When we visited her home, I remember the feeling of being in a house like the Doctrine and Covenants described when saying, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; “
While most of our generation would live off of credit cards and debt, while trying to find happiness, Amy has established a house of God. I believe that Amy’s integrity is more than just being honest, true, and chaste. While she embraces all of these qualities, her integrity is such that she could stand before the Lord and answer honestly that she prepared her home as a place He could be a welcome visitor.
From her I have learned the importance of preparing a harmonious home so that I too can be ready. I LOVE YOU Amy!

Today, I feel extremely blessed.

To you faithful women: Thank you for being my pillars of strength; faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, and integrity.

It is from you that I continue to gain a deeper understanding of who I am

and who I am becoming.

I love you.