Sister Yee Speaking at Conference Today

 Here we are 20 months after that Introduction. I read the last sentence and did not remember the adventure I intended to write about. 

Today I watched 6 hours of conference. Sister Kristin Yee spoke in the evening session. She is a religious artist who paints pictures of Christ. She talked about a special painting and how long and how much effort it took. When it was done, she applied a clear varnish to protect it. But saw her painting dissolve in front of her eyes: The painting was supposed to be more dry before applying the varnish. She was crushed., She cried. She called her mother. Her mother said: Make the best of what you have there. Kristin got to work and created a painting that was way better than the original.  Her talk was so good about that experience and how God helps us.

I went on instagram to find her and decided to follow her.  Here is one of her posts (from last Christmas) which I love:

I hope you’re finding some peace this Christmas season. It’s fairly easy to be busy, isn’t it? You don’t have to even try! But it seems to take work to be still. I’ve been sick this past week and have had to be still and slow down much more than I’m used to. At first, I thought I couldn’t afford to lose this time.

But in the slow, I found myself thinking more about relationships and people and less about my to-do list. I found myself appreciating the small conversations and kindnesses of others more and thinking less about what’s next. I found myself seeing the virtues of others more and judging less. I felt more kindness for myself and less criticism. I found more joy and humor in the little things and less frustration when things didn’t go as planned. I found more awareness of my own needs and the needs of others and less loneliness. I found more temperance in habits and less anxiousness. I found myself watching His creations and pondering more. I found more empathy and desire to comfort others. I found more tutorings of the Spirit and much more gratitude for life and the goodness of God. In the slow I found Him.

And I realized I didn’t lose time; rather, I gained a new “knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience … towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world” (Mosiah 4:6).

I hope you can find a moment or two this season to go slow and let Him in. His goodness and many blessings await you as you sit in the stillness and “know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10). I love the Lord, and I know He loves you and desires to give you His peace, joy, and healing now and always.

May His peace fill your hearts this Christmas.

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