A New Calling????

One of the blogs I sometimes read had a great post about how to approach a new calling (or even one you've had for a while, if you ask me). It is based on a talk given in Sacrament meeting by the High Councilor. I am only including part of it here. To read the whole post, go here (it has some YW-specific advice too).

So here is my excerpt:

When you get a new calling (any new calling):

Step one: repent. Because it's good for you. Because it's time. Because that's the necessary spiritual preparation for any new calling. Because you need to (we all need to).

Step two: re-read Lehi's dream and see in it a pattern for when you have been given a new calling. You're in the dark and dreary waste, you're wandering in the dark. However, you have spiritual guidance standing by if you pray for help and mercy - note how in verse 9 Lehi finds that he's standing in a large and spacious field. Aha! (Maybe... he was there all along...)

Step three: pace yourself. Most callings are marathons, not sprints. Especially when you're stepping into an existing YW program, in which some people are already serving, it's best not to go in with both guns blazing. Don't try to do everything at once.

Step four: be open to what the Lord wants you to learn from this calling. Most callings are answers to prayers, and the prayer that's being answered here may not be yours.

Step five: "magnifying" a calling can mean finding the tool that allows you to read the fine print. If you think your new calling is insignificant, small, unimportant, or meaningless, then you haven't found the fine print yet. He (the High Councilman) said he's been called as Sunday School president 4 times. The first two times, he thought it meant he was on paid administrative leave, and that the only part of himself he needed to give to the calling was his index finger to press the bell 5 minutes before the end of the second hour. Round about the 4th time, he finally GOT that the calling was about teaching the ward how to teach the gospel in their homes. He found the fine print.

If, however, the calling seems too big, and you feel you can't do it, you're absolutely right. You can't do anything without the Lord, nothing of your own strength - but you can give your heart and time to it and your work - imperfect though it always is - can be consecrated by the Lord for the benefit of the girls and leaders in your stewardship.