Sorrows and Sisters

Sometimes there are people that come into your life and you don't always know why until something happens. Emily Miller was that person for me. Her friendship was such that I know Heavenly Father put her across the street from me to help me prepare for the changes that would occur in my life almost 4 years ago (4 years? Wow! It's already been that long?!?!).

Well, now I feel like Heavenly Father has put me where I am so I can be of help to others. For years I have been troubled about the relationships, or lack thereof, I have in my ward. Early last year, I prayed and prayed that He would help me learn to love the sisters in this ward somehow...that He would give me a calling that would make me grow closer to them...a calling that would help fulfill part of my patriarchal blessing of giving direction and inspiration to the sisters...a calling that would let ME serve THEM and forget about my own feelings. He did that through my calling as Enrichment Leader. As the months go by and we have our activities, I get to know more and more of the sisters on a deeper level and the inspiration by which Heavenly Father guides me as to what the sisters need is amazing.

But now, I also know that I was put in this ward to help others in different ways. There are so many problems in our little ward world that many people don't know about. I can't and don't want to go into them, but I am so GRATEFUL that the Lord and my Heavenly Father have given me experiences in my life that I might be of help and direction to some of these sisters. And, I am so GRATEFUL for the power of the Priesthood in my home - a husband so willing to give a sister or two he barely knows, a blessing of comfort and peace regarding their situation. I have grown closer to these sisters through listening to them and letting them share their frustrations and feelings. I hope I can be the kind of friend they need through their trials and beyond.

Church today was good, other than suffering with a headache caused by my pinched nerve again. Clint was asked to teach the Priesthood lesson on obedience and he said he felt it went well. I made some Chicken Broccoli Casserole for dinner and it was good, but overcooked. I was going to cook the broccoli just a little bit before mixing it all together and baking it, but I was busy talking and forgot, so I ended up cooking it a little longer than I should have. It was still good, just not as creamy as I like it.

Went on a few errands yesterday. Ran to a new furniture auction hoping they'd have something I'd like in the way of a hutch and table and chairs for a decent price but they didn't so I left before the auction even started. Started heading home and realized that I was only about 1.5 or 2 miles from Real Deals, so I bopped over there to see what they had. Bought a cute tall lamp for cheap, a picture/plate holder for the hallway, and some tile stands in pewter. I think that's about it. They are still riding around in the back seat of the truck...along with the stuff I bought there 2 weeks ago! Oh well.

After that, as I was driving toward home, stopped at Kaeleen's Furniture just off the freeway (saw it driving to Real Deals). Told Kaeleen, the owner, what I was looking for and she said she could order the set I had found online that I liked from Ashley. Told her that I wanted to check it out at the store to see it in person and would probably be back in a couple days to order it. Ran to Direct Home Furnishings to see if they had anything. Still nothing. Stopped at Taco Bell, then off to the grocery store. It was SO hot getting in and out of the truck constantly. It was 185 degrees with 2000% humidity. At least that's the way it felt!

Came home, made homemade salsa and mexican rice for the Ward Adult Game Night dinner. Headed off to the church. BOTH of us had a fun time. Left early though because we wanted to run to Ashley to see a table/chairs/hutch set that I found online that I liked. This is it - the only thing I'm unsure of is the table - it's only 78" long and we want something a little longer since it's only 6 inches longer than what we have now.

We rushed there to only find that I'd gotten the address wrong by one major street. Oh well. We'll go there on Monday night after work. For now, headed off to bed - back to the grindstone tomorrow.