My Sabbath

I'm a Latter-Day Saint (LDS).  We have a lay clergy -- which means every member has a "job" at church in additional to their "normal" job and family duties.  Our bishop is also a high school teacher, his first counselor is a draftsman and handyman, and his second counselor (my husband) is a financial services representative.  I also have an assignment -- I'm the Primary President, which means I'm responsible for the religious education of the 18 month olds through 12 year olds.

I have known and still know some adults who resent the amount of time their parents spent in their church assignments.  They feel that their parents cared more about their assignments or "callings" at church, than their own kids.  I don't know, I think we all find something to resent our parents over.  I was the kid who's parents didn't always come to church.  My parents weren't very active until I was in high school, but they were always good people, I knew they believed in God, and we always prayed as a family.  I didn't really understand the advantage of a temple marriage over a civil-only marriage until my parents were married in the temple when I was 16 years old.  The four of us kids were also "sealed" to them for "time and all of eternity" at that time.  Then, as a judgmental, opinionated teenager, I saw two good people with a good marriage, become something greater.  This lesson has served me well over the years.

I guess I don't have a lot of sympathy for the adults who were active kids with active parents -- seems like a strange thing to hate your parents over.  However, I do worry about my kids feeling this way some day.  I don't want them to hate the Church because their Mom and Dad were busy serving everyone else, but them.  I am very careful about how many hours I ask them to be adults in little kid bodies.  Because really, the end goal is for them to love the Lord and His Church, as much as I do -- if not more.

So, back to today's sabbath:
This morning, my husband and I both needed to attend Ward Council (basically, our congregation's staff meeting with the bishop), which meant also taking the kids -- an almost 5 1/2 year old and an almost 2 year old for a 1.5 hr adult meeting.  (Who is going to babysit at 7am on a Sunday?)  Thankfully, I have two wonderful counselors who trade off months with me, but this month it was my turn.  As I pulled up to the church 30 minutes late -- totally my fault this morning, but I didn't lose my cool -- my kids cheered and screamed, "Yay! Church!".  I said, "Okay, but first we go to bishop's meeting."  Then screams of "Yay!  Bishop!"  Man!!!  That did my heart good!!  This made my month!!! These two "little" adults were great during the meeting, and help me set up chairs in the classrooms afterward.  Then, during church, with everyone watching and my husband helpless in the front of the room, I was in the back pew with two little ones who decided to be children again.  I racked up 400 steps on my pedometer while "sitting still" in church, and my last comments were, "No touching!!!".  I was handling it okay, better than some days, but I was ready to turn them over to their teachers.  A member of the Stake Presidency (leaders over ~10 local congregations) walked by afterward and smiled "You did a good job."  I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, right!"  He smiled again, "I know its hard."  Thank you, I needed that.

Serving in Primary

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Primary is the organization responsible for the children ages 18 months to 12 years old.  Since we have a lay clergy, this organization and its teachers are all volunteers.  We're also responsible for a pre-teen girls group that meets twice monthly, and the cub scout group.  On Sundays, Primary has two hours of instruction, music, and maybe a game for the children.  One Sunday per year, the children give a presentation to the entire congregation during the main church service, or sacrament meeting.  I am currently the Primary President for my local congregation or ward.  We believe that our assignments or callings come from the Lord through inspired leaders who pray about these decisions.  I know that Heavenly Father has directed my hand when I have asked the bishop to assign various people to my Primary -- yes, mine.  I believe the Lord wants us to take ownership of our callings and our ward.  I have had very clear answers in choosing my teachers and counselors.

I am grateful for my assignment in Primary.  I may be wrong, but I think I've been in Primary since the autumn of 2009 -- this time around.  That means that for two years I spend the first hour of church struggling with my own children in a pew trying to keep their sounds somewhere below a roar, and the next two hours assisting teachers, struggling with or teaching everyone else's children, and still struggling with my own.  The experience itself is exhausting, but its also often frustrating when the adults are unreliable.  That means that for two years, I have not heard an adult lesson in Church and it would appear to some that for two years I haven't felt the Spirit in Church, but they would be wrong.

I am a busy person.  I don't even say it anymore, I pretty much refuse to, but people come up to me and tell me how busy I am.  They just don't know the half of it.  I don't have time to talk about it, I just run.  Most of it, I do to myself.  Some of it is the result of various external influences.  Lately, its completely out of hand.  I know that I often come across as cold or unfriendly to other adults because I am so focused on getting the day done, on being there for the ward's children and keeping an eye on my own, that I don't stop.  I barely see anyone else.  But that is exactly why the Heavenly Father put me in Primary -- because He knew what these last two years would be like for me spiritually, personally, and professionally, and He knew it was the one place where He could still break through my tough "survive at all costs" exterior and reach my tender heart.

Me, with two college degrees, who leads teams at work and at Church, who can in one breath size up a junior engineer, a multi-year cost account on a government contract, the contents of the refrigerator at home, and the local six year old.  I've studied the Gospel in depth, and served a faithful full-time mission.  No matter what's going on, or how distracted I am, I can be reached in & through a Primary lesson.  My Father in Heaven can reach my tender heart through the honest, straightforward questions of a handful of children.  He can reach me by letting me know that the 20 minutes of instruction I provide are some of the most important moments in my entire year.  And I know that I don't want to fail those children.

I am grateful and very honored to serve the children of my ward.  I know that the Lord has guided my hand in powerful ways to select my counselors, secretaries, teachers, Nursery leaders, Activity Day & scout leaders.  I know that being a Nursery leader for the 18 month old - 3 year old children is not a baby sitting assignment.  I know that it is pretty much the most sacred calling in the Church.  You are laying the cornerstones of their testimonies through music, talking, and play.  You are showing them that someone besides their family loves them dearly.  That this is a tree, it has leaves, and that God loved the children so much that He made a world of trees for them, that He made apples for them to eat, and dogs that go "woof, woof".  You are teaching my son, his favorite song, "I Love to See the Temple".  You are holding my daughter while her mother teaches elsewhere, because God asked her to  -- and only because she knows it was her Father in Heaven who asked.

So, support your local Primary president.  Accept the assignment, or accept the request to substitute teach.  But better yet, support her when she calls that Nursery leader -- quite possibly she prayed about it and is merely running the Lord's errand.