Callings

At times, Dan and I have discussed how wary we are to do too good of a job in our church callings -- you know, in case anybody gets the dreaded idea to "promote us" to more intensive ones!

Since January, I was pulled from the Beehive Counselor in our ward to become a counselor in the Stake Young Womens Presidency. I was really sad about it. I loved the leaders I was working with and was starting to make some headway with my Beehives. Besides, weren't stake callings for "old" people and more administrative than hands-on with the youth?  (i.e. "boring"!)

Having been in there for almost 6 months, I can confidently say yes on both counts. = )

Ok, ok, I say that in jest, though there is some truth to it.  I felt very out of place when I walked into correlation meeting (which includes a member of the Stake presidency, and the stake young men and young women presidencies and two high council men, so roughly 11 people ), and realized I am easily 20-25+ years younger than everyone. That, and I was two months away from delivering a baby. (Correction, our secretary is a single woman about my age.) I was replacing a counselor who had been with the current presidency for the past five years, as well, so I definitely felt out of the loop for a while as I tried to get up to speed.

As soon as I was pulled from our ward YWs, our Bishop snatched the opportunity to call Dan into the Young Men's as the Priest advisor. Just recently, the presidency changed again and Dan is now the secretary.  We're both enjoying working on the youth level, though it means juggling our kids around and hiring baby-sitters when our meetings conflict, or when I have my grief center meetings.

Life just keeps getting busier! We laugh about how we once that college life was busy. I'll admit there are some nights when I feel a heavy frustration brewing inside me when Dan and I hardly see each other during the weeknights until 8 or 9 pm, and our Sundays become more about meetings than family time. Sometimes, that strain between us takes a lot of work to simmer down and think positively. What's worse is that we both can feel IT -- this feeling hanging over us that something bigger is around the corner, and that callings are only going to demand more of us.

So what to do with this information and situation? Due to attending our Stake's ward conferences (as part of my calling), I am lucky to hear messages from our stake presidency. One message that struck a chord with me had to do with this very conflict. The speaker pointed out that the gospel is not convenient and church callings are not easy to fulfill, given our other demands and wants in life. But if we do the best we can with regards to our church callings, the our lives will be blessed for the better.

As I fear for future callings (namely that of Stake YW president, since I know the current president is being released soon), the words keep coming to mind: "What are you afraid of? You can do anything you are asked to do, with the Lord's help." I truly believe that, too. If I am asked to do something, I can do it well because I know that if I follow the guidelines of the gospel, I can't be steered wrong and I just need to get on my knees more and pray about it. (That, and Dan is one of the best resources in my life for anything, too!) It will just take effort.

The church does expect a lot from us -- sometimes it feels like too much. But then I think about all the church and the gospel has done for me, and know it's the least I can do. The church doesn't function well without willing members to do their part; and I know, for instance, that when I have teenagers, I'll be grateful there are men and women willing to teach and work with my kids.

So here I am, working on my faith to being accepting and willing of anything that comes our way!