I wrote this last Thursday night, but needed a bit more time to process it all before I actually posted it.
So..... yeah, I got a big shock tonight.
Our ward got split a week and a half ago, and we're in a new ward that was formed from parts of three other wards (much less geographically spread out now). We've never been in a ward when it was split, so it's been neat to see the whole process. Did you know that ward boundary changes go all the way to the First Presidency to be okayed? I didn't.
A week and a half ago we had stake conference and after conference was over they had a special meeting for the three wards that were going to be affected. They explained the process of forming a new ward and showed us the new boundaries. Those who are in the new ward were released from their callings in their previous wards and the bishopric was called.
They've since been busy meeting with people and extending callings. This past Sunday we sustained a bunch and this Sunday we'll be sustaining a bunch more, including us. Mr M got re-called (called again?) to 11 year old scouts. The stake president wants continuity with the scouting program so they're trying to keep the leadership the same as much as possible (the 11 year old scout group has boys from three different wards in it right now because there's only a couple 11 year old boys in each ward). I was kind of thinking this would happen, so it wasn't a surprise at all.
My calling is another matter entirely. After Mr M accepted his call, the bishop turned to me and said they'd like me to be the Relief Society president.
Huh????!!!!!!
A side note: we knew we were going in to get callings so I was trying to think which callings had been sustained on Sunday, and I was pretty sure all the "major" ones had been taken care of already this past Sunday.
Or not.
My reaction? "You're kidding, right?" (yes, I really said that to the bishop, but in my defense, he's only a year or so older than me and we used to live across the street from them before we bought this house, so it's a little easier to be more casual with him)
His response was "I would never kid about something like this."
Which I knew, but I was so shocked that I wasn't really filtering what came out of my mouth. RS president has always been one calling I never wanted (there's a couple, but this was definitely at the top of the list). I've been more relaxed with what I eat lately (Halloween and all the candy is not a good thing for my self control) and I've been feeling a lot more fuzzy headed lately. I never feel as in touch spiritually when my brain is fuzzy.
I was talking to my mom a few days ago and I mentioned the ward split and that we would be getting new callings. I bemoaned the loss of my previous calling of Sunbeam teacher (which I really enjoyed, along with being a nursery leader a few years ago- neither are on my don't want list) and mentioned that I've been feeling stressed out lately. Homeschool, extra activities for LMS, trying to get the house organized and looking nice (lots and lots of paint), and so on are keeping me super-busy. I said something about not being sure I could handle a time-intensive calling, and she reminded me that I needed to accept whatever calling came my way. I responded that if I got a time intensive calling maybe that meant I needed to re-think what I'm spending my time on.
By itself, that was a good reminder since I am not always good with time management and it's easy for me to feel overwhelmed by everything, especially if I'm not feeling as good as I could be (like now). Since I didn't get a super easy, cakewalk calling I do need to rethink some things, but overall I should be ok. As the bishop reminded me, if I'm feeling overwhelmed, than I'm not doing the calling right. I need to call good, capable counselors and allow them to do their callings and not take on everything myself (which my OCD tends to want to do). And I will definitely be learning lots from the experience.
Some things I've been thinking about, some of them even before tonight:
- LMS does not need to take a ballet class. She loves playing ballet class, but that doesn't mean she needs to take one.- I don't need to do it all. I was planning on making Christmas gifts for family this year, but even though I want to do it, I don't need to it. It's ok to give store-bought gifts.
- It's ok not to get the house all painted and the needed furniture (bookshelves and such) built before Christmas. Not that that's realistic anyway, it's just my OCD really wanting to get the house just right as quickly as possible. It's ok to take my time getting the rooms painted, as long as I get the bookshelves built and installed as soon as possible. I can't handle the stacks of books all over the front room anymore.
- I'm glad I've been working on a menu plan for us, since mealtime can be stressful if I don't have something planned ahead of time (especially if I'm not feeling good). This has also helped lower our food expenditures a bit.
- I need to be better at getting to bed on time and getting up earlier in the morning.
- This will be a a good opportunity for me to look outside myself and serve others more. I haven't done that much over the past few years because of the celiac and Mr M's deployments (I was focused more on getting myself and LMS through each day).
Which of your callings have you found the most challenging?
Wow. I think you're going to do great--because you're recognizing the things that you need to change in your own life to allow you to focus on the needs of the sisters in your ward. Your reaction made me giggle--I applaud you for saying it out loud! As for which calling has been the most stressful, I'd have to say my current one (primary 1st counselor) is doing a number on me! I feel like I'm constantly around kids--mine and others--and it's really starting to drain me. Especially since there are so many kids in my ward with behavior/medical/etc issues. Plus the fact that Todd is the YM president and has early morning meetings, weekday activities, fast offerings, taking the sacrament to shut-ins, firesides, etc...I feel like we're being asked to give a lot and it's hard to not feel resentful. But I know that as long as we are putting our own family first, everything will work out. Your family is more important than anything else--we always need to remember that, and to remind other people of that when our church callings get overwhelming! It doesn't do us any good to serve others at the expense of our own families. Wish I was closer to help you paint! Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteCondolences ... you'll do great. I remember when my mom was RS president, but I don't remember it taking a ton of time. I will offer 1 suggestion - keep meetings short and simple. In my last ward I was 1st counselor in the RS and our weekly meeting was always long (2hr+). It was the hardest part of the calling for my family. I wish we would have spent half that time visiting the sisters (and VT interviews count as visits).
ReplyDeleteAs far as the hardest calling? Webelos Den Leader. Although I'm sure a lot of that was because I was being a mom to 4, 2, and 0 kids and still running the meetings (Jared wasn't home during the evenings to help out). My kids were a distraction to me and the boys and it was frustrating.
Also I had to laugh at your reaction. When Jared was called to be EQ pres and the ExecSec was setting up the mtg, after we chit-chatted for a while he mentioned that he hadn actually called to schedule a mtg with us and the Stake Pres. I instantly said, "Well that's no good!"
Sometimes we can't help but let our thoughts slip! =)
Congrats and Good Luck!