Presidency Message

A sweet sister in my ward got up this past Tuesday night in Relief Society and gave an inspiring lesson on, well, keeping our homes in order. Hmmm. My mind quickly raced through the portals of extensive memory searching for any moment she may have been in my home. No, I was safe. I could effectively smile and nod my head at the appropriate moments and still keep up the illusion. I listened in quiet reverence as she explained her methods of orderliness. She explained how she always put things away after she is finished using them. I thought about my iron sitting on my bathroom sink for the past month.

She mentioned how she tries diligently to do one or two loads of laundry every morning before she gets the kids up for school. I wondered if my light green blouse, which I hadn't seen for weeks, might be at the bottom of my laundry.

She has a filing system for incoming bills in a sturdy plactic box right next to her phone. I use a laundry basket. I find that you can stack a lot of mail in one of them, and the handles make it easy to carry from room to room.

Before she goes to bed at night, she picks up toys, books and blankets, and puts them in her children's bedrooms, thereby creating a beautiful clean home to wake up to. If I were to work all through the night I might have everything picked up before the children wake up the next morning.

But, several times during her presentation, she referred to herself as a "clean freak," and apologized for her orderliness. We do that, don't we, sisters? We apologize for having good traits that we strongly suspect are challenges for others. She is not a freak at all. She is a wonderful, bright, compassionate woman who has simply developed the godly attribute of cleanliness. And I appreciate her.

Since Tuesday, I have kept my dishes rotating from the kitchen sink to the cupboards. I have put away everything I personally have used, and have strongly encouraged my children to do so, as well. I found my light green blouse! My iron is under the sink where it belongs. I even picked up a stream of papers that slipped off my laundry basket/filing system and neatly stacked it back on top of the others. I'm on a roll.

What does this have to do with ANWA? Absolutely everything. We write about what we know. And hopefully, along the way, we can give someone a smile, and another...reflection, and yet another...inspiration. As we share our experiences we share ourselves: our loves, fears, weaknesses, strengths, hopes and dreams; and because of this sharing, we comfort and uplift each other. As you take your God-given desire to share yourself through writing, and develop and make use of it, you will be a blessing to others. May you determine to do just that.

With love,
Theresa M. Sneed
ANWA General President