Blessing or Burden?

Some of the young men in our ward recently returned from "Zion's Camp" and reported on their experiences this past Sunday during Sacrament Meeting. Each young man's experiences were different and all touched and impressed me in different ways but there was one in particular that stuck out to me.

The young men were asked to take a hike while holding onto the "iron rod" (a rope), and along their journey they were told they had to keep holding onto the rod the entire time if they didn't want to become lost. Along the way, they were given various objects which they were required to balance in their hands while still keeping their grip on the iron rod. The first object was an egg. It represented a woman's virtue. Several other objects were continually added to it including stones and sticks representing marriage, children, the word of wisdom, etc. The young man reported that it became very difficult to balance all of the objects while still holding to the rod and at one point, he even lost his grip and had to try to find the rod again. In the process, he crushed his egg. To make matters worse, people began to approach him and ask him why he was carrying all of those objects. He ignored them, thinking they represented the "great and spacious building", or the people who mocked and laughed at him for trying to stay the course. He began to be a little discouraged. But in the end, someone finally told him, "You've been deceived. These are not burdens. They are blessings." At that point, he was able to drop all of the objects he'd attempted to balance.

How many "burdens" do we carry around that are actually "blessings"? It really made me want to stop and examine some of the "burdens" I've been carrying around. Perhaps they aren't burdens at all. Perhaps with a different attitude I can see them for the blessings they truly are. For instance, staying at home with two young children is challenging and at times discouraging. Many times, I've seen some of my day-to-day challenges as burdens when in fact it is a great blessing for a mother to be able to stay at home and raise her children. It's all about our attitude.

Looking at my challenges in a different light does not make any of them disappear. The challenges are still challenging. But viewing them as blessings rather than as burdens helps me to be more grateful and to find more enjoyment as I try to meet those challenges. I know if I am able to maintain this point of view, my way will be easier, my burdens lighter, and my blessings greater.

Visiting Teaching Skits

Let me begin by saying how much I love, love, love my ward. Nate and I have always felt very blessed to be among such good people. Several weeks ago we had a special Relief Society meeting on visiting teaching. The men in the ward took over what callings they could in the rest of the block so that many of the women, like me, who usually serve in Primary, Young Women, Nursery, etc. could come to Relief Society for the special meeting. It was so fun to be there with so many of the sisters in my ward all together at once. We're a fairly small group but it was still pretty cozy.

A sister in our ward had written and prepared three separate skits which took the entire meeting time. Each skit was performed very well by different sisters in the ward. They had transformed the front of our Relief Society room into a stage with three different "living rooms" set up. Each skit illustrated good and maybe not-so-good examples of visiting teaching. It was very well-written, funny and touching and the actors were all very natural, very well-prepared. But more than that, it really worked for me. I got so much from those little skits. Seeing it dramatized and "played up" a little taught me so much more than I ever learned by just talking about it or hearing a lesson from the book. It really helped me see some of the things I need to improve on and gave me some good ideas for the future.

After each skit was performed the room was opened up for comment. It was so interesting to hear everyone's different points of view and I really felt like I learned a lot. Most everyone agreed on the basics though. Visiting teaching should be more about watching over each other and about genuine friendship and less about assignments and numbers. I will certainly always remember that special, fun lesson.