Day #259 - the one with the new calling

5 years ago today I was sustained as the relief society president of the Patuxent ward. I was terrified, it was so hard. I didn’t think i could do it, but I wanted to. I wanted to love it. And then I learned to. I have always meant to write more about it here, but a lot of it is private and sacred so I’ve only written bits and pieces. 

I have been blessed to serve for exactly 5 years to the day. I served with 2 great bishops, 3 elders quorum presidents, 2 high priest groups leaders, 3 Primary presidents, 3 YM presidents, 3 YW presidents, 3 Sunday School presidents, 2 stake relief society presidents, 2 stake presidents, 4 counselors, and 3 secretaries. 

In my 5 years, just about everything in relief society changed. Sometimes more than once. Just when I thought I had something down, it would change and it has made for 5 years of non-stop learning and growth. I’ve loved almost every change, I would not like to go back to first Sunday councils and I was not sad when they did away with those. 

I was blessed to be part of several convert baptisms, several people receiving their temple endowments, or returning back to the temple, and almost a sealing. I comforted those that stood in need of comfort for 5 families that suffered the death of a family member, and I will forever be honored to have been able to help dress Sister Everett for her funeral.

I’ve loved organizing the ward giving trees, several firesides, the interfaith Christmas concerts, and serving with the WARM program. 

It has been a hard, busy, amazing, challenging, stressful, wonderful, overwhelming, joyful 5 years. I shared today in my testimony that Delaney was 3 when I was called, and she used to come with my to do “bisits,” and then when we’d get home she would play relief society with her dolls. All the girls loved coming with me to visit sisters. They can’t wait to be part of rs!

I have become a better mother, wife, and disciple through this experience. It really has been one of the most choice blessings of my life. 

Today I was sustained as the Suitland Stake Relief Society President. 

It’s been a long, kind of lonely journey that i want to document. On October 25th Matt and I got an email that said President Boyd wanted to meet with both of us and we could bring our girls if we wanted to. I knew immediately. But Matt thought maybe I was just getting released. So then I spent a lonely week wondering what in the world was going to happen. 

On November 1 we traveled up to the Calvert building and met with President Boyd. The girls were SO extra, they talked and talked, and he was so sweet with them. And then he extended the calling to me. This time I only cried a little. 

I have come to realize that I have never paid much attention to the stake at all. I vaguely remember that they dissolved a ward last year, have never thought about our huge stake boundaries, and never thought about just how someone chooses counselors from throughout the entire stake. 

That Monday I talked to Kitty for 2 hours. She’s been so wonderful through this whole transition. 

That Wednesday I spent the day in my room, fasting and praying. Matt gave me a blessing and i read my scriptures and got to work. I went through every relief society presidency in every ward and wrote down each member of it. Then every single woman in the stake. I clicked on every name and checked every picture if they had one. I came up with 6 different scenarios. Because president Boyd counseled me to try to spread out my counselors so it would be easier to get to each ward, I had to keep changing things up. On Friday I submitted my recommendations. I really felt like the brother of Jared taking my little weird idea to the Lord and asking Him to bless it. 

I met with Kitty at the stake center one day. She went over all 4 of the stake rs closets and gave me the master keys to every building in the stake. She gave me a bagful of books and binders and so much information. We talked there for hours and then went to lunch. We each brought each other a gift and a sweet card. I have such big and wonderful shoes to fill. I pray I can continue on with the same powerful spirit she brought to everything she did for the stake. 

Then I waited. A week later President Boyd let me know that they’d approved my request and the next step was for the high council to approve them. Who knew? I filled out stake action request forms and then waited some more. 

The next time I heard anything was when Rebecca called me last Sunday. Brother Gibbons had extended the calling to her and she asked if she could call me, which I love. We hit it off immediately and when we hung up she said she was more excited than terrified, so I call that a win. 

On Tuesday president Boyd let me know that callings had been extended and accepted and he’d be in our ward on Sunday. I talked to Chelsea that night. Kitty had told me I needed someone that was good with computers as my secretary. Just how I was supposed to find someone from the stake that was also technologically talented, I did not know. As i fasted and prayed, Chelsea popped into my head. I immediately dismissed that idea because I was thinking I just wanted to work with someone I knew. And then the idea came to mind again, and I knew it was right. That’s the way the spirit speaks to me, and I was 1/3 of the way there. 

I talked to Debbie yesterday and loved her too. She is super chill and ready to serve wherever she is needed. I’m so excited to get to know these women, and also all the sisters in the stake. 

Today during ward council I started getting texts congratulating me and letting me know they sustained me. I was a little surprised they had sent the announcement email so early, and President Boyd apologized about that after he set me apart. 2020, amiright? 🤷‍♀️

Bishop Darrow was so kind when he released me. The spirit was so strong and my heart has just been so full all day. Tracie, Lindsay, and Marlene were sustained as our new RS presidency, and Missy, Sara, and Erin were sustained as the new YW presidency. Then President Boyd announced our new stake Relief Society presidency. After that I was able to bear my testimony again. I just spoke 2 weeks ago and shared my testimony, so I spent some time thinking about what to share. I am always grateful to share my simple testimony. I’m a simple girl, but I know my Father lives. I am grateful for my personal relationship with my Savior and for the power I’ve been endowed with in the temple. Tracie and Missy bore powerful testimonies too. 

Then President Boyd and Matt set me apart and gave me a beautiful, very personal and specific to me blessing. I had talked to all the girls and asked them to help me remember what he said, and they did. My dad also came, and Chelsea and Bryn were able to be in the room with us. It was very special and testimony affirming. 

It’s been such a wonderful day. I’ve gotten so many nice texts and emails, people have really been too kind and generous. I worked on some things for Tracie and we’ve continued on our leftovers journey. Matt took Tenkor for a long walk and she didn’t spaz when they met another dog on the path, so that’s exciting too. 

We read through The Friend and watched the elders Facebook live event and now we’re watching The Witches based on Roald Dahl’s book, which Delaney is loving. 

November 29th has become a wonderfully important day to me. I am really so grateful to be able to serve, even as I’m sad to be closing our ward chapter, I am excited to be opening a stake one.