This is the first of a series of posts in which I will share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.
Background: From the age of 27 to 30, I served as the Relief Society President in my congregation (ward) in Austin, TX. The Relief Society is the women’s organization of my church. Every adult woman at church is a member of the Relief Society. A Relief Society President sits in council with the priesthood leaders of the congregation and works closely with the Bishop (similar to a pastor) of the congregation in seeing to the temporal and spiritual needs of women and families. A Relief Society President presides in Relief Society Meetings, overseeing the teachers and doctrines taught. She assists the Bishop in the welfare program of the church to provide opportunities for work, food, and other necessities for those in need. A Relief Society President spends time visiting the homes of members. She provides special service to families after the death of a family member, providing comfort and assistance. Under the direction of the Bishop, a Relief Society President oversees the women in the congregation in service and sending them to visit and teach other women. She seeks out those in need and those who are not attending church. The ultimate purpose of the Relief Society is to help save souls.
Six Muffins and a Few Wishes
It was 2003 or 2004 in Austin, Texas and I was serving as the Relief Society President of my congregation (ward). My purse was empty and my baby Timothy was always on my hip. Our budgeting over the past few years had led to a cash-in-specified-envelopes system which gave me tangible proof that our income was limited and that my natural impulse to buy gifts had to be curtailed.
A woman in our congregation had just brought home her new baby from the hospital. She was new to the area and had not had an opportunity to make friends. Although I didn’t visit every new mother as one of my Relief Society duties, I knew that it was important that I visit this one.
“How could I visit a new mother without a baby gift?” I sighed. I had a blueberry muffin mix in the pantry, so I baked her some muffins, loaded my children into the wagon, and began the walk to her apartment.
As I pulled my little wagon with two little boys inside through the wooded apartment complex, a woman opened the door of her apartment and called out to me, “Could you use some baby shoes?”
She had in her hands two new pairs of baby girl shoes that she wished to give to me. She told me that she had seen me and knew that she should give them to me. I didn’t have baby girls, but I told her that I was on my way to visit a mother of a new baby girl and that the shoes would go to her. I thanked her for following the impulse to be generous to a stranger.
The woman with the shoes was not a member of my church. I had not prayed for a miracle. I was just acting in my calling, following an impression that I needed to visit someone in need.
I call this my loaves and fishes experience because my gift was miraculously multiplied. The Lord knew the woman I was going to visit and He loved her. The feelings that I had were strong that I should visit her. He knew my financial situation and my heart and he placed someone in our path who could help. Through this experience and many others, I saw that the Lord’s hand is in the work of the Relief Society. He trusts women to do important and difficult things in His church, but sometimes it is the simple acts that make the biggest impact. I saw His love for the individual and a concern for details. He provided a beautiful baby gift for this new mother when all I had to offer was 6 muffins and a few unspoken wishes that I could give more.