Sell, Sell, Sell… I finally got my own E-bay account and am a selling fool now. It is amazing what people will buy.
One of my worst case scenarios came to fruition yesterday and I end up learning a lot and now have one less fear.
As Education Counselor in Relief Society one of my responsibilities is to make sure that the lessons are taken care of each week. In the past I had great reliable teachers that I didn’t have to worry about. In the last few months all the teachers have been released and new ones put in. One of the teachers has had 6 opportunities to teach but has only been there twice. She is always out of town for one thing or another. I dislike getting substitutes because I don’t like asking people to do things I wouldn’t want to do. Anyway, I called her Thursday to make sure she was all squared away. It was all good.
Worst Case Scenario: Sunday morning at 7:30 she called and told me she had the flu and couldn’t make it. I can’t fault her. The flu that has been going around and around and around down here is nasty and there is no way she was going to make it. But it was too late to call a substitute. That left ME.
When I am scheduled to teach I typically start weeks in advance, or at least a full week before. I have never felt I have the gift that some do (my father) to get up and speak about any given subject on the spur of the moment. I literally had less than and hour to prepare during the Sunday School hour. That was basically enough time to read over the lesson and gather my thoughts. While I was thus preparing, a young mother in the ward came up to me a needed to talk. I didn’t feel like I could dismiss her and so the my prep time ended up being about 30 minutes.
Ironically, Saturday morning I attended a leadership training focusing on instruction. The “prayerfully start preparing the week before” part I couldn’t do anything about, but prayer was involved, I’ll tell you that. Another thing that we were counseled to do was to pray for the gift of teaching by the spirit always. I hadn’t really thought of ever doing that although when Elder Nelson said it I realize it was a no-brainer. It’s something I should have been doing all along, not just when I had to teach a lesson. The prayers began Saturday. (It’s a good thing too)
I felt strangely confident when it came time to give the lesson, given that this was one of my worst fears. I knew that if I started it off and let the spirit guide the lesson the way it needed to, it would work out fine. Guess what? It did. I actually could have continued for another 20 minutes had there been time. It was a tremendous learning experience for me and I am so thankful for the opportunity that “dropped in my lap”. I am still marveled at how answers to prayers come. I could not have imagined an answer or a learning experience would come so quickly to cement the things I learned at the broadcast the day before. I am also not dumb enough or conceited enough to think that I am now a professor.
On a lighter note: Some Serraisms…
Brian had the girls all to himself Saturday most of the day while I was off on church duties. He was working so they were driving a bit. At one point he gunned the engine while getting on the freeway. From the back seat Serra proclaims, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!”
The other night Serra observed, “Mom, you have a lot of hair all over your legs.” I told her she did too. Then she told me, “But yours are rascals.” (translation: she was referring to the term whiskers like on Daddy’s face.)
