Originally Brad was going to be joining me but my mom ended up not being able to watch Cooper so he stayed home with him. At first I was upset that I had ever signed up because I realized it was going to be my first time not being home to put Cooper to bed. That might not seem like that big of a deal but I LOVE being able to read him a story, bundle him up in his blanket, kissing him good night, and being the last one he sees before he goes to sleep. So all day I kind of was dreading going and cleaning. I drove down with my friend Nikki and another lady in our ward. As we got there I was shocked at how few people in our stake had volunteered. It was then that I realized how much I needed to be there.
Our ward had the most people with 13 but there were only a total of 24 people from the entire stake :( I know I can't judge because people have really busy lives but I left a 3 month old at home to be there and there was a lady in my ward who is like 6 months pregnant. There was a lot of husbands there which made sense since their wives were home with the young kids. Our job that night was to vacuum the auditorium which seats 21,000 people. I have been to a few sessions of conference but I had forgotten how enormous it really is. We paired up, one with the vacuum on their back and the other in charge of navigating the really long cords threw all the seats. There are 3 different levels and we split up and went to work. We vacuumed for almost 2 hours straight and still didn't even get done with half of the auditorium. This got me thinking about how important volunteers are for getting this responsibility completed and how far one night of service can go so far but how much more really is needed.
I get caught up in my own life and responsibilities that I forget how important service is. In a talk given by Pres. Monson he says "The Savior tells us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives". It makes me realize how important service unto others really is. This is something that I am truly going to strive to be better at. I only have one child right now and I am blessed enough to stay home with him. Because of this I have a lot more free time than others and I should use it to benefit others. Especially with all the holidays coming up there are so many opportunities for serving others and this year I am going to strive and do my part in helping those in need.
“Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others."
-President David O. McKay
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