I hadn't heard that they were doing anything for our ward for the meeting, so the week before conference we began inviting friends to come over and watch with us. The YW leader's thought it was a good idea, so we invited all of the YW, their mothers, grandmothers and sisters. I tried to be open to invite anyone who might need a place to watch the meeting. I invited the sisters we were meeting with with the missionaries, investigators, new converts and the less active. We have a few new families in the ward so I invited them. The list was growing and the response was positive. I was getting excited.
We cleaned, baked and bought treats. We put out the Fall decorations. Matt suggested we might want to borrow some chairs from the church and then the calls and texts began. One by one our list dwindled until the 20+ people we were expecting became two. One of the sisters was Doris who had been recently baptised. It was her first opportunity to experience our worldwide church up close and personal. I was grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with her. Our other guest was Andrea who brought her baby James. Andrea recently moved here from Colorado. Her husband is a doctor and is doing his residency at the hospital here. She is very lonely and homesick. She wasn't able to stay the whole time, but she was here long enough to watch the Korean Children's Choir and the first talk. Her mother is Korean, so it was extra special for us.
Matt asked me if I was dissapointed that more didn't come. I can't deny that I was a bit dissapointed. It was a lot of work getting ready for the crowd that didn't show. I had pictured the evening different than it turned out, but I had peace in my heart. The evening was just as it should have been. Our little group was representative of LDS women all over the world. Some of us are old, some younger, some of us grew up in the church, some are new converts, some of us have raised our families, some are still working on it, some just beginning and some dreaming of families that will be, but we are all "Daughters of Heavenly Father who loves us and we love him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things and in all places!" Even when that place is my living room.
The next day at church I heard Doris telling several people how much she loved the Women's Meeting. When I hear that little voice that tells me, I can't make a difference, I hear a different voice remind me - It made a difference to that one.
P.S. Not only was the meeting great, but my house was extra clean, the fall decorations were up and we have two new friends!
The Starfish Story
Once upon a time there was a wise man
who used to go to the ocean
to do his writing.
He had a habit of walking
on the beach
before he began his work.
One day he was walking along
the shore.
As he looked down the beach,
he saw a human
figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think
of someone who would
dance to the day.
So he began to walk faster
to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw
that it was a young man
and the young man wasn't dancing,
but instead he was reaching
down to the shore,
picking up something
and very gently throwing it
into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused,
looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked,
why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out.
And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach
and starfish all along it.
You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another starfish
and threw it into the sea,
past the breaking waves and said-
"It made a difference for that one."
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