May 2022, Week 5

*Today at church we had some pretty great talks.  A missionary shared a story of being able to teach the right thing at the right time, and the investigator sharing what he (the missionary) needed to hear.  A sister shared about how fasting blessed her family when their son was born with a heart condition and needed surgery and further healing.  A brother shared how he and his wife struggled financially at the start of their marriage, and wondered when they'd finally "get there," but learned that self reliance is an ongoing process, not a destination.  I realized as they were talking (not for the first time) that when they shared their experiences, their messages became real--and memorable!  It is a good reminder for me to focus on (WRITE DOWN) experiences that I have had and to be willing to share them to uplift others.

*Today at church I substituted on the organ, and as I was looking over the congregation, I thought how the area we live in has grown so much.  I tried to identify who had been in the ward as long or longer than our family, and there was probably only about 10 percent of the people in that group.  We've been here for 13 years now, which is the longest I've lived anywhere, and we've seen a lot of changes.  I miss a lot of the people I knew that are now in other wards from border realignments, but I'm grateful for the growth, and I'm grateful for opportunities for my own growth, even though sometimes I don't appreciate it because it is hard.  But what good has ever come from things being easy?

*Today at church the choir sang for the first time since Christmas, and I am the "assignment" pianist (meaning I'm not called, but just asked to help out).  It was a super pretty, easy song--and I messed up on the intro by starting my right hand an octave too high!  But through the grace of God because of all the prayers I asked to be able to keep the Spirit of the song and not detract from it, I plodded forward and fixed it.  It seems not many people knew there was a problem, so my prayers were answered.  Our choir director is moving and was released today, so no more choir for a while again, I guess.

*I also, with Ben, substituted in Benson's Primary class.  We talked about the book of Joshua, and told the stories of crossing the Jordan River, Rahab saving the spies, and capturing Jericho.  (We even brought some blocks for the kids to build a wall, march around, and knock down!)  Be strong and of a good courage!  That needs to be on a pillow, I think. ☺

It was a delight!