I'm a woman, W-O-M-A-N!

If you're a man, you might want to stop reading right now. I may cross the border of providing TMI... but I will be tasteful about it.

As I lay in my bed last night with my heating pad, waiting for the Advil to kick in, I started to grumble about being so uncomfortable. It was pretty bad. I often wonder if all of the pain is necessary.

Yesterday in my Sunday school class, it somehow came up that the kids don't understand that the Atonement covers more than just sin and transgression. I explained to them that through the Fall, Adam and Eve became mortal - which meant that not only would they die someday, but that their bodies would be subject to all sorts of mortal stuff: pain, sickness, temptations, etc. I then explained to them that the Atonement covered everything that comes with being mortal. I don't know if they got it, and I'm getting a little off-track, but I do sort of have a point here. While Sis. Chase was going on with her lesson, I turned to Moses to find the scriptural reference for what I was trying to explain. I didn't find exactly what I wanted, but I did find this: "Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children..." (Moses 4:22). I didn't think much about it at that point, but during Relief Society and then much later that night, I remembered it.

Our lesson in Relief Society was about callings in the church and how we should neither aspire to or deny a calling. The teacher brought up the Priesthood and how people outside the church are crtitical of the fact that women are not given that responsibility in our church. She asked us what we thought about that and the group gave all of the standard answers - women partake of the Priesthood with their husbands, why would we want the Priesthood when there is so much responsibility that goes along with it, blah blah blah. And then one sister spoke. She said that she was tired of hearing women try to justify why it is OK that they don't have the Priesthood because there's nothing to justify about it. She said that roles are different, and that as a mother of 5 boys under the age of 6, she wouldn't have it any other way. She then started to cry because she said that she knows that people in the neighborhood think she's a bad mom because she lets her boys run wild and play in the street, but that she is so overwhelmed by the huge responsibility she has of raising 5 future priesthood holders that sometimes she just needs a break. I know that I've been one of those people that has knocked on her door with one of her children in tow because I almost hit him with my car, but I felt real empathy for her and knew that I had judged her and her parenting abilities too harshly. And then I remembered what I had read in Moses earlier - her sorrow is greatly multiplied.

Which brings me to my main point... it's all part of the plan. I see my friends who are pregnant, and know of all of the sacrifices they make to bring children into this world. They endure all sorts of pain, nausea, stretch marks, voice changes (who knew?), swelling, etc. My monthly discomfort probably doesn't even pale in comparison, but I guess they're all part of the package. My doctor once offered an option for me where I would only have to endure any discomfort every 3-4 months or so, but I said "no way!" She asked why, and I said, "it serves as a reminder to me as to what my most important work on this earth will be... it keeps me humble." I'm not sure she understood what I meant, but whatever. As I lay in bed last night, I remembered what I read, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow...."

Yesterday, my dinner guest asked me where I saw myself in 5 years. I answered that I saw myself as a wife and a mother. It sounded cliche and trite at the time, but that's what I want and I know that is what Heavenly Father wants for me. Like Sis. Christensen said, we, as women, don't need to justify our roles as wives and mothers because that's just how it is. And I wouldn't trade my role in this life for anything else. Last night I visited a friend who is expecting and she placed my hand on her stomach so that I could feel the baby kick. When I felt it, it was the most thrilling thing I had ever felt! I can only imagine how thrilling it is for her. Although her sorrow is greatly multiplied, so is her joy.

So I just have to remember... I signed up for this. Although I didn't get to choose whether I would be a woman or a man, I got to choose whether I wanted to come to earth, get a body and partake of life's trials. And I'm loving every minute of it.