Blog Meme: Day 9

9- something you're proud of in the past few days


This is the big news of change that I have been waiting to share. Not bigger than having a child, but something that is going to make an impact on my life.


I am proud of being able to accept a calling in the Relief Society Presidency in my ward as the First Counselor right before my third child was due to be born. 


When I was extended this calling, it came as a bit of a surprise to me. I didn't know the presidency was going to be rearranged, and I certainly didn't expect to receive a new calling. Actually, I was hoping to take a couple of months off from teaching Gospel Doctrine in Sunday School, and I didn't want to be released because I was afraid I would be given a calling that might be more time consuming outside of the house and away from my family. 


But, an interesting thing happened to me on Sunday while I was listening to the Mormon Channel on my ipod. I was listening to a program that had the guests Elder Claudio Costa (member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and his wife Margareth on it.  They were talking about how they were called at 31 and 33 years of age to be the mission presidents of the Brazil North Area mission. They had four small children at the time, and they were in charge of over 100 missionaries, living in a city with 2 million people, and the mission area covered over 2 million square miles. 


Elder Costa was gone a lot visiting all the areas of the mission and most of the square miles the mission covered didn't have roads. He had to fly to get to the places he needed to be. I immediately thought of his poor wife and how I didn't think it was fair that she should have to raise those four small children seemingly by herself. I didn't think it was 'fair' that the Lord would ask them to sacrifice like that.


Right after I had that thought, Sister Costa had mentioned that she knew how to take care of her children, and that wasn't the hard part, but the hard part was not knowing how to care for those missionaries. The children were easy. Then, Elder Costa started talking about how the Lord had truly blessed them during that time in their lives with balancing their schedules so they could maximize their time as a family together, and still get the things done that needed to be accomplished with their callings as mission president.


It served as a testimony to me that the Lord really does know what callings we need in our lives, and when we need them. Just hearing this story, one day before getting this new calling, has helped me to understand that there is a reason I have been asked to serve in this position and that the Lord will bless me and my family in the areas we will need so I can be successful in my calling as 'mom' and in other areas that will demand my time and attention.