kbradfie

I am currently serving as a Relief Society teacher. Before that my husband and I served together on the activities committee. I have really enjoyed both callings but unfortunately as a teacher I don't get to work closely with any of the other sisters in the ward as it is kind of a one woman job when you prepare. I have asked for some help from a couple of sisters before as I prepared, but beyond that I've pretty much been on my own.

I am currently in a married student ward. I have really been struggling a lot feeling like I have a place in my Relief Society. My husband and I have been in the ward for a year and a half, since we were married. In that time we have made many attempts to invite different couples over and get to know people, but it seems the act is rarely reciprocated. I have been having an especially hard time in Relief Society feeling like I have any close friends there. It seems every Sunday I go in and make a special effort to sit and talk to someone. There have been Sundays where I have been one of the first in and have had empty chairs on either side of me and no one comes to sit there. It is times like this when I really feel like a loser. Now to add a new dimension is the fact that I am pregnant. Many of the women in my ward are also pregnant (at least 10 others!) In the past month there have been at least 3 baby showers, with two more coming up in the next week. I have been invited to them and have been attending. I can't help but feel melancholy right now though because I feel I have no one in the ward who would reach out and do the same for me. I am really struggling right now with feeling lonely. My mother and sisters are a state away and I never imagined I would be having my first child so far from them. My husband is a great support, but I don't feel he can offer some of the comfort and socializing I need from a woman's perspective. I look ahead to when I have the baby with a lot of anxiety because I do not feel like I have anyone in my ward that I can turn to, including my visiting teachers. I worry that as a stay at home mom I will have no friends to keep in touch with. I can't help but feel a lot of hurt right now as I go to each of these other sisters baby showers, wondering why it is that I have not seemed to be able to find a place to feel at home in my ward. If I was not making an effort to reach out and meet people that would be a different story, but I honestly feel I have made the effort to get to know people and help people feel welcome, especially when they are new. I really don't know what to do. I feel so sad right now. Sometimes I just want to cry because I feel so helpless. This is something I have prayed about, for help that I will be able to find ways to serve others and not let these feelings fester inside, but I am still struggling. Does anyone have any advice or words of comfort to offer?