Losing Yourself in Service without Losing Yourself, Part 1

There is no way I'm going to get all my thoughts down in one post, so here is the first installment.

Let's start way back in the year 2000. We were living in Cincinnati. It was ward conference and President Hahl had asked that all the sisters in the ward attend Relief Society that Sunday. His message, as I remember it, was that as women we give and give and give and show compassion and do good, and that is to our credit, but we also need to take the time and make the effort to fill our own cups too. I remember him saying something to the effect that some things have to be done individually--no one else can develop your talents, no one else can build your testimony, no one else can work out your salvation. I only had one child at the time, and probably one on the way, but I still wondered how in the world I could squeeze me into the equation, in between the meals, laundry, diaper changes, and everything else. I needed to hear what he said, and it really hit home, but I had no clue how to put it into practice. A lot of water has crossed under the bridge since then, and I have learned a few things, but I still don't really know how to do what he counseled us to do. And it bugs me.

More to come in Part 2.