Being equal, equal before the law or flat.

This morning I woke up tired and I thought to myself "I am soo tired - I will sleep for another 2 hours and go to Sacrament Meeting". I have this thought often but I never follow it. I am glad that I also didn't follow it today.

I just changed from the international ward to the German ward a couple of weeks ago. I really loved the ward I had been in before and I had felt the Spirit every Sunday. The first couple of weeks in the new ward were a bit tough as the German members were a bit distant and I didn't really feel the Spirit at church. But I had felt it was the right decision to change wards so I knew that if I kept on being patient, the warm feeling and assurance would come.

Today it came. We had a ward conference today and Sacrament Meeting already started with great talks, tears and the Spirit. Relief Society was even better. We talked about "the worth of a woman". It has always been easy for me loving myself and the fact that I am a woman, a daughter of my Heavenly Father. I have never envied men or brothers because of the Priesthood for example. I love being a woman. With all the joy, blessings, strength, beauty and challenges it brings.

Our Stake President, President Berkhan, also attended Relief Society and said that in all the Temple interviews he has had in the past he learned that the sisters are more self-critical than the brothers. (Maybe it is because we worry so much.. :)) In the past weeks I have found myself being somewhat "guilty" of being too self-critical. I want to be too perfect in my job, also because my boss demands high quality from himself. And I noticed that I tend to concentrate more on the things that didn't go "well" rather than on the things that did. This is not really me, as I am a very positive person who doesn't focus on the negative things in life as these just take too much energy away.

The things I learned and realized in Relief Society today were:

• When I say my "good-night-prayer" as first task to name 3 positive things that happened that day. And if I really cannot find anything positive - that can't be. Hey, I got on my knees to pray!
  
• Pray to focus on the positive things that went well during the day and learn from negative things, but then dont pay too much attention to them anymore.
  
• Acknowledge that I maybe didn't get everything done I wanted today but being ok with it. Also realizing that my intentions are good and that I am doing my best. I cannot run faster than I am able to.

President Berkahn also spoke about being equal and equal before the law (or flat, I don't know the right translation) when it comes to women and men. Are we equal or equal before the law? It is not about being equal, as men and women are different and that is good! But we are equal before the law. Men and women have the same rights in bringing in their dissimilarity. Yes, we are different and

"neither is the ^aman without the woman, neither the ^bwoman without the man, in the Lord.

We complement one another in our dissimilarities. But nevertheless, Sam and I might complement one another better than Tom and I. (I do not know Sam or Tom.)

So this Sunday has been great and I am getting to love my ward. With all the different people that are in. And I am also learning to acknowledge the fact that Germans just are different than all the members in the international ward from various countries and cultures. And we all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

Amen.