Honoring Women

Wow. What a week. It all started last Tuesday when my mom flew in. Then that night I went to a youth fireside where we got to hear Steven Covey speak. It was amazing. Of course it is always fun to have Grandma in town, but the week got even better when me and my mom left for a mother/daughter weekend. We drove 5 1/2 hours to Columbia, SC in order to go to the temple and then go to Time Out for Women on Friday night and Saturday. The speakers were INCREDIBLE and the music was OUTSTANDING!!!! After we checked into our hotel on Friday night, I said good night to my mom ( it was like 10 pm) and then I ran downstairs to go have a girls night with some of my very favorite people (pictured above). We laughed way too hard and stayed up WAY too late (or early if you get real technical) :).
These are all of the girls who went to Time Out for Women from our area (well my old area...sob, sob, sob). I love each one of these sisters so much. They have made such a powerful impact on my life.
Me and the most beautiful woman in the world.
On Thursday, me, my mom, and Cloey (Kate was in school) went downtown and had some fun in the fountains, on the carousel, and walking across the bridge over the beautiful Tennessee River.
I felt so blessed to have my mom with me on Mother's Day. As we walked into church together, I felt so proud to call her my mom. Not only is she beautiful, she is also one of the most tender and Christ-like woman I know. For the last couple of years, my mom has attended the temple once a week. I have noticed a change take place within her. She is more sensitive to the Spirit, more loving to others, more humble, more gentle, and more prayerful. I am so thankful for her incredible example. I feel just as the Stripling Warriors felt, I do not doubt because my mother knows it. She is a woman of faith, virtue, and integrity. I love her so much and I honor her as my mother, my children's grandmother, and my friend.

There are so many mothers that I honor as well. One of those is my grandmother. This last year has been a very difficult one for her because my grandfather passed away. Although she has had to deal with the grief, loneliness, and trials that come along with losing a spouse, she has also been so strong. Her testimony in the plan of salvation, faith in a loving Heavenly Father, and hope in the eternities to come with the love of her life, has been an anchor that has withstood the storm of adversity. I love her with all of my heart.

The other women that I honor are those who have felt the loneliness and despair of bareness, the agony and grief of loss, the heartache of covenants broken, the disappointment of wayward children, the fear of never finding true love, or the pain of robbed virtue. Although each of our trials and struggles come in different packages, we are all loved deeply by One who has felt each of our pains and disappointments. Through Him, we can overcome. We can stand tall as women of virtue and faith as we follow in the footsteps of the great women who have gone before us and those who stand all around us.