I love my callings!

I am so grateful to be able to serve in the gospel. I have been so blessed. The past several callings I've had, I have learned so much from. A few years ago I gave a talk about service, and I learned that when we give service, the person doing the serving is blessed more than the person receiving the service. After my past few years of service, I know that is true.

Two years ago, I was called to be the Primary Chorister. I was excited but nervous, because I had never felt comfortable in front of a group of children. I felt fine teaching adults, but teaching children was very new to me. I remember it took me so long to prepare, and when I first started out, sometimes I would be so nervous that my voice would shake...totally embarrassing, but the Junior Primary couldn't tell the difference : ) I remember I would be so anxious about having everything in order and ready to go. I would literally write out everything I was going to say, sing, and do. When I came home from church, I would be exhausted, because I was concentrating so hard. After a month, I wasn't nervous anymore. After a few months, preparation became a lot faster. After a few more months, I could wing things so well, it was really fun, and I could communicate with the children better. I better understood how to captivate them. I was released when we moved to LaPine, and by then, I was so comfortable in front of the children, and more confident in myself as a teacher. Such a blessing for myself, and my family.

In LaPine I was called to the YW's. This calling really changed my life. The YW president was truly one of the most amazing women I have ever met, and I feel privileged to have been her friend. I miss her terribly. I have never seen someone serve others so much. She was ALWAYS lending a helping hand, even though her husband had to work out of town, 4 out of the 7 days a week, and she had 4 children. She was full of love, and was so selfless. We were able to show the young women how much we loved them. We all bonded together. I felt like I was in YW again, but better. Everyone supported each other. We laughed all the time. It was wonderful to live the gospel together. They reawakened my youthful self. I learned how important it is to love those that we serve. If we do this, those people will respond. They will recognize that someone cares for them, and their hearts are likely to be softened toward us, and more importantly, the gospel.

I recently was called as a Primary teacher for the 5-year-olds. This is actually the same calling I had after Chad and I got married, and let me tell you, I was terrible! I didn't know how to keep the kids from misbehaving, I didn't know what types of things kept their attention besides coloring (which doesn't keep their attention that long anyway), and I didn't know really anything about teaching children. Now, after having my calling as Primary Chorister, I am SOOOO much better. The children and I had so much fun today, and they learned a lot. I was SO happy. I have learned how to keep them on task, I have learned what types of activities keep them engaged, and I have learned how to show my love for them. I am so grateful for these blessings, because I have so much more confidence in my abilities to teach Jet, and my other future children. Before, I was scared out of my mind, and lacked confidence in my abilities. I also feel confident in being able to teach in general, like teaching piano lessons, which I will likely do sometime in my life, and instead of being scared about it, I know that I can be a really great teacher.

The truth is, even if I didn't receive any blessings, I would still serve happily. I just wanted to share my gratitude for my opportunities to grow.