When I got called as Stake Girls Camp Director last year, the most common response I’d get from people was:
“Wow, I can’t believe they would give you that calling right now!”
I’ve got 3 young kids right now, my Come Follow Me Study work takes up a lot of time, I have a lot of additional extracurricular commitments…
And my husband is serving as bishop.
I’ll admit that a similar thought crossed my mind when I was being extended the calling, as well.
Isn’t this asking a little bit too much?
But the Spirit had been subtly preparing me, and I jumped into the calling.
And now that our stake’s Girls Camp ended over a month ago, I can now say:
“Wow, I can’t believe that I got to witness so many miracles, get to know other amazing women, and feel God’s love for the young women and leaders in our stake.”
It doesn’t feel “fair” that I got to experience this tremendous blessing.
Truly.
Now this doesn’t negate all the late nights and endless meetings and difficult problems and so on and so forth that I had to deal with along the way.
It was a ton of work, literally and emotionally.
But when I’ve willingly submitted my heart to a calling I’ve been extended, I’ve always felt more love ALONGSIDE the sacrifice that often accompanies it.
Ammon so beautifully said:
“This is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.” (Alma 26:3)
That’s the BLESSING!
The blessing is being able to serve and love other people.
The blessing is being able to be God’s hands in both formal and informal ways.
It is a privilege to serve.
And it is a sacrifice. And it’s hard. And there’s nuances to different times of your life and various callings… I get it.
But maybe if we start looking at church callings as being given unique opportunities to experience more of God’s love, we might completely change how we talk and think about callings.
“Always hold a calling in the Church. Especially when life is busy, you need to feel the Lord’s love for those you serve and for you as you serve.” -David B. Haight
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
2 Responses
Cali,
Such a wonderful post! And unbelievable that you were able to accomplish such a huge responsibility with CFM, your small kids and your hubby as the bishop. What a stellar example!
Grandma Ann
Thank you so much!! <3