Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Christmas Journal - December 6

We had our Relief Society Christmas social this evening.  It was deliberately designed to be low-key, relaxing, and inspiring.  It was held in a home, instead of at the church, so that helped create that kind of atmosphere.

One of the young adults, who is about to head out to BYU-Idaho, played a solo on her violin.  It was the Janice Kapp Perry song about "The Least of These."  The words were read prior to her playing, so everyone's thoughts were focused on the message, as well as the beauty of the music.  I remember Lisa singing that song several times, so I enjoyed it very much.

The Compassionate Service leader then spoke about service, loving and supporting one another, and choosing good, better, best.  She did a marvelous job of bringing such a wonderful spirit into the room.  Her closing remarks about her grandmother who recently passed away were especially poignant.  Her grandmother was blind from the age of four and lived such a full life, serving others.  It was a wonderful message for the Christmas season.

The rest of the evening was just socializing.  There was a hot chocolate bar with lots of goodies to add to the hot chocolate and snickerdoodle cookies, my favorite kind!  It was really nice to see sisters getting better acquainted.  There were several sisters who are new and I know they felt more a part of the group.  No one was in a hurry to leave, so I know they were enjoying that special sister-hood feeling.

As everyone left, they were invited to take an ornament from the Relief Society.  These were purchased last year from Israel and are made of olive wood and are intricately carved holiday scenes.  They were also given out last year, but everyone loved finding just the right one to take home this time.

It was a wonderful evening that accomplished its purpose - another great reminder of what the Christmas season is about.

No comments: