“Don’t be nervous! Teachers always love people who just jump in and help out without being told!”
But I was still nervous.
It was my first time going into a real elementary school classroom as an assistant while I was earning my teaching degree.
Everyone kept saying that we should just jump in and help but… I still didn’t know what to do.
I spent way too long standing at the back of classrooms afraid that I would mess something up.
Years later, as I stood in front of 35 sixth graders and an assistant walked in to help me, it did not even cross my mind that my helper would “mess everything up”.
The Lord told Joseph, as Joseph was concerned about procuring the proper materials for the sacrament:
“It mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament,
“if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.” D&C 27:2
In other words, stop worrying about all those details.
Stop worrying about not understanding every aspect of that new calling you just received.
Stop worrying about that new position at work.
Stop worrying about getting all of the parenting techniques right.
And just get your heart in the right place.
That’s what the Lord wants when we take the sacrament, more than anything else.
Are we focused on Him?
Then the details will work themselves out.
Are we focused on serving our neighbors?
Are we focused on our technical strengths and learning quickly?
Are we focused on making sure our kids feel tons of love from us?
Then the details of that calling, that job promotion, and that tough parenting situation will work themselves out.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we throw the details out of the window. We don’t use candy and soda for the sacrament every week for a good reason.
But when we let go of trying to get every single detail right, and instead focus on turning our hearts and desires to what matters the most…
That’s when our hearts start to change.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
