There are two things I love about this group. First, I love the chance to get to know other people. Every two weeks when we meet at least one person is someone I don't know very well. I'm not super social, so I enjoy the opportunity to sit, relax, and just chat with other women. It's also wonderful to just be myself. I don't have to be mom-me or wife-me or teacher-me, I just get to be me!
The second thing I love about this group is the opportunity to learn and create something. (And maybe even teach someone else.) Since October I have:
- learned to crochet (single, double, half double, extended single, foundation double, front post and back post stitches)
- made 3/4 of a scarf (I got bored!)
- made a toddler sweater (my attempt to not be bored)
- started a beanie
- started some toddler leg warmers
Creating something always brings a feeling of accomplishment. In fact, it reminds me of a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in 2008. The talk is called "Happiness, Your Heritage" and is specifically addressed to women and how we can increase our happiness. One of the things President Uchtdorf talks about is the act of creation. He said:
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.
You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. 4 Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things....
You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. 5 The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.
What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.
If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.
...
The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.
Today I'm grateful for our little group, for the opportunity to create something, and for the reminder of this awesome message from Pres. Uchtdorf. I'm going to try to remember to exercise my creative capacity each day, and I hope you will, too.
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