SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS...

MAUDE HUGGINS' PATCHWORK OF EMBROIDERY STICHES

 FOR A RELIEF SOCIETY MINI CLASS CIRCA 1970'S

I still keep in touch with the "no contact" sisters in our ward as part of my formal ministering responsibilities.  Each month one of the things I do for these eleven sisters is to write a letter addressing the theme our ward Relief Society presidency has chosen on which to focus their weekly meetings.  This is what I chose to write to those sisters for October 2018.

My mother was a beautiful seamstress!

During her lifetime she sewed whole wardrobes of everyday and dress-up clothing, often with embroidered embellishments, for her family of eight girls.  Plus, she lovingly stitched the wedding dresses for three of them.  My mother used materials at hand which sometimes involved fashioning something new from other still serviceable items of clothing.  Her talent was extraordinary, and her sewing entries almost always garnered a blue ribbon at the local County Fair. 

I remember the teachers at school would often “Ooh, and ah” as they admired my school dresses, fingering the cloth and turning up the hem on the garment to the inside which revealed workmanship as beautifully crafted and precise as the visible outside.  One of those creations was a jumper and matching coat which my mother made for me from the first quality wool of my brother-in-law’s Navy blues when I was in the first grade.  The coat was lined with yellow taffeta, and I felt so special when I wore that outfit. 

Sometime after I was long gone from home, my mother was invited to teach a class for her Relief Society about embroidery stitches.  But she didn’t just “talk” the instructions, she made a patchwork quilt pillowtop and bordered each patch with a different embroidery stitch to demonstrate.

After my mother died, I was the happy recipient of that beautiful piece of work.  I recognized the patches on that throw pillow as scraps of material from some of the articles of clothing my mother had sewn for me—including the yellow taffeta lining of that treasured coat!  Little bits and pieces of my life lovingly stitched into a priceless family heirloom. 

When I open my cedar chest and look at that pillow, I often think how those patches represent the small and simple things my mother did in our home to build great people through her joy in the role she had as mother, her strength of character, and her finely tuned spirit.

Our Relief Society theme this month is “Choose the Small and Simple Things”.  We don’t have to do big elaborate stuff to make a difference either at home or with others.  We need only remember that those small moments and decisions we make will have such an big impact on the outcome of our purposes here.  It is the consistent redoing over and over of the same small behaviors that will cement everything we’ve tried to accomplish as wife and mother into a consequence that is of great importance.

The Church's recent Semi-annual General Conference held on October 6-7^th this year was a fertile field of examples and suggestions which can easily be adopted into our scheme of small things that make a difference in the long run:  forgiveness, ministering, hope, love….  I thought one talk during the Saturday morning session was particularly pertinent to the “small and simple” theme. 

Elder Steven R. Bangerter of the Seventy said that the small and simple traditions we establish in our homes are increasingly important in the world today.  He spoke of several simple things they did which laid a foundation for their family.  One of those traditions he spoke of resonated with my heart.  Elder Bangerter said they never left the house or ended a phone call to each other without closing with the phrase, “I love you.”  

That was not a tradition in my home growing up, or even with my children.  But I determined some years ago to add it to my conversations with the Nichols Kids.  I’m not always successful in remembering that important phrase, but I believe it has a connective quality to it when I do remember. 

I then invited those sisters to do the following:  

Take a pencil and paper and jot down some of the small and simple things you have done in your family that have contributed to those wonderful big people your children are now.  Give yourself credit for the good you have done—then keep those traditions alive as each day passes. 

Remember Alma’s counsel to his sons in the Book of Mormon:  “…that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”  (Alma 37:6)

I also encourage you to check out all of the other recent General Conference proceedings.  Each of them will fill your heart with greater understanding of the Lord’s love for us and His great desire for us to be happy and have peace in a world that is increasingly dark.  I know this is true.

And, don’t forget that I am here ready to assist you with a listening ear, a meal, a ride, or any other kind of assistance you may need.  I hope you consider me your friend, as I do you.   Text.  Email.  Call.  I want to help you in any way I can.

Georgia Nichols  303-918-1127    mommuzamom@msn.com

POST SCRIPT:  I never know if the letters I write to these special sisters ever strike a chord with them--or truly, if they even read them.  Some of these eleven I have been writing to since we moved to Johnstown 15 years ago.  

But, President Nelson's recent challenges to us as sisters, first to be ministers, also included studying about Christ in the Book of Mormon so we could bear testimony of Him and invite others to come unto Him.  

I want to do that, so I am also looking to do the small and simple things I need to in order to accomplish those purposes.

SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS MAKE A BEAUTIFUL PATCHWORK OF LIFE....