If this question had been asked before October conference, I would have responded, "I don't. I have never done anything good for the community." However, Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson taught me that is not true. In her most recent conference address she said:
"What good does it do to save the world if we neglect the needs of those closest to us and those whom we love the most? How much value is there in fixing the world if the people around us are falling apart and we don’t notice? Heavenly Father may have placed those who need us closest to us, knowing that we are best suited to meet their needs."
She then goes on to talk about how we start with service towards family members, then we branch out to ward and neighborhood, then the community, and on and on. As I listened to her talk, a memory came to me from two years ago. My neighbor's son was having brain surgery the same day that the terrorist attack happened in the Brussels Airport in Belgium. I had signed up to make them dinner that night. It seemed that all of social media was focused on the event, and everyone thought they knew the best way the rest of us should respond. And it felt like a SAHM in Utah "doing nothing" was not appropriate. As I became overwhelmed with feelings of guilt I felt the Spirit whisper to me, "You are making dinner for a family in need. You are doing what you need to do right now."
Making dinner for that family was a huge turning point in giving me the courage to be willing to reach out to help others. I'm not good at doing service, it's out of my comfort zone. I had never made dinner for anyone outside of family before. A couple of years prior, a sister I visit taught had just had a baby, and the RS President told me that I had to make her dinner. I nearly had a panic attack trying to figure out what to do because at that point in my life I was only making my family hamburger helper type meals. I reluctantly reached out to her and asked when/if she would like dinner. She told me that her family lived close by and that they were taking care of her. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
After feeling reassurance from the Spirit that I was doing good, I felt more comfortable volunteering to make dinner for families in my ward when they needed it. But I don't know if I consider it a sacrifice, because all I did was double the recipe of whatever I was making my own family.
When I think of volunteering in the community, I think of city and school programs. Since my kids are so young, I'm not really in a position to do any of those things, but when Benjamin starts school next year I will absolutely sign up to help with class parties, reading volunteers, and other parent volunteer activities that the school asks for.
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