Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent

Sweetie and I went to the conference center yesterday to attend Women's Conference. We met up with the Rock girls to carpool, and thanks to Alicia's stellar driving skills, we survived a car pulling right in front of us while going 65 mph on the freeway. But that's not what I got on to blog about.

When Alicia first texted me to see if I wanted tickets for Sweetie and I, I kind of waffled. I wasn't sure I wanted to fight the traffic or take the extra time to drive up to Salt Lake City. It's easier to stay home and watch it.

But then I remembered our years in Massachusetts.  I remembered after that first week of teacher training, how I felt so alone in my beliefs (for so many different reasons). We went to the Boston temple at the week's end because I needed so badly to go somewhere where the feeling was familiar. And I remembered driving an hour to get to stake conference, which wasn't even in a stake building because we didn't have one. I hated the drive, but I needed to look around and see the gathering of others who believed.

I learned then that there is real power in "enlarg[ing] the place of thy tent," as Isaiah says. Real power in gathering together and in knowing that you are a part of something larger than yourself. I wanted Sweetie to feel that power, to look around the conference center at all of the strong and faithful girls and women and feel the strength of the heritage and membership that is hers.