Very unexpectedly. I was at my brother's house in Kansas a few days after Christmas when I got a call from a member of the Stake High Council. My first thought was, "Why is he calling me?--it's too early for nativity callings." When he said it, I was dumbfounded--seminary teacher.
Now, my roommate has been a seminary teacher for a year and a half. I subbed for her exactly once, and it was so torturous that I never offered to again. Getting up at 5am when a full night's sleep is so crucial to my functionality? No thank you. A feeling of nervousness that I might have to turn down a calling came over me. I asked if I could have a couple of days to think and pray about it. I went upstairs from the basement, still stunned, and told my family. My mom and my sister both said that if I didn't think I could do it, I should decline. I've seen continually how sleep-deprived Cathy has been, and knew I couldn't do the same thing she did. I also wanted to cry at the thought of being released from the Young Women's presidency. It's the best calling I've ever had, and I would miss the girls so much! I believe that callings are inspired and didn't want to refuse one, but I just had to sit and think for a bit about whether there was any possible way I could make it work. I even thought about whether it was possible stay in Young Women's and still teach seminary, but quickly realized that would never work.
The Spirit really can work miracles. Over the next hour, not only did the way forward become clear, but my fear almost completely dispelled. The thought of getting up so early still made me nervous, but I didn't even have to really pray--I knew without a doubt that this calling was what God wanted me to do. I thought about the blessings of working with the kids, of studying and teaching the scriptures in depth. Blessings that my roomie said were so worth it that she doesn't even want to be released after two years of teaching.
I felt like I could arrange my day in such a way that I don't have to be sleep-deprived all the time. I normally don't go in to work until almost 9am. I decided that I would try planning my next day's seminary lesson right after class, before I go to work. If that didn't work, I would ask my boss to change my work schedule to go in earlier. The only difference is that I would need to go to bed at 9pm every night. Even if I did miss out on some sleep, the Lord would bless me to be able to do the things I needed to do. I called the High Councilman back in an hour and accepted the call.
I reflected on the last several months, and a few things were impressed upon me--one was that my calling in Young Women's has prepared me for this one. I don't have to learn to love these kids because I already love the youth I work with so much. I love teaching them, being with them, seeing their minds working, seeing them grow and develop. Another was that for a while now I've been feeling like my evenings were empty, that I wasn't doing anything worthwhile. I haven't felt a renewed desire to write (my research is satisfying that creative impulse for the time being), the three girlfriends I used to do things with on weeknights all moved away in September, and there haven't been any hobbies I particularly wanted to pick up. But most strongly, I remembered two gentle promptings I've had over the past few months that I thought about, but didn't do much about. They were to rise earlier, and to study my scriptures more.
That's about as clear-cut an answer as you can be given.
I got stuck in DFW on New Year's Eve and the days after because ice and snow clogged up all the roads between here and there, so what could I do, but read as many seminary training materials as I could? I read the entire teaching handbook, and as I did my excitement grew. I had lunch with Cathy and her mom, who has also been a seminary teacher, and they gave me a lot of great pointers.
By Tuesday morning I was ready! First week gone, and it has been one of the most spiritually enriching weeks of my life. My students are wonderful, I'm slowly learning how to engage them, and planning lessons right after class is working splendidly. We studied D&C 76 all week, and it is full of amazing doctrine. I love those kids so much! Seventeen students, and I learned almost all their names the first day (I did know a handful of them ahead before--two were my flutist buddies in the Nativity!). Now I'm just trying to figure out how to work scripture mastery in the daily plan. Excited for next week!
Now, my roommate has been a seminary teacher for a year and a half. I subbed for her exactly once, and it was so torturous that I never offered to again. Getting up at 5am when a full night's sleep is so crucial to my functionality? No thank you. A feeling of nervousness that I might have to turn down a calling came over me. I asked if I could have a couple of days to think and pray about it. I went upstairs from the basement, still stunned, and told my family. My mom and my sister both said that if I didn't think I could do it, I should decline. I've seen continually how sleep-deprived Cathy has been, and knew I couldn't do the same thing she did. I also wanted to cry at the thought of being released from the Young Women's presidency. It's the best calling I've ever had, and I would miss the girls so much! I believe that callings are inspired and didn't want to refuse one, but I just had to sit and think for a bit about whether there was any possible way I could make it work. I even thought about whether it was possible stay in Young Women's and still teach seminary, but quickly realized that would never work.
The Spirit really can work miracles. Over the next hour, not only did the way forward become clear, but my fear almost completely dispelled. The thought of getting up so early still made me nervous, but I didn't even have to really pray--I knew without a doubt that this calling was what God wanted me to do. I thought about the blessings of working with the kids, of studying and teaching the scriptures in depth. Blessings that my roomie said were so worth it that she doesn't even want to be released after two years of teaching.
I felt like I could arrange my day in such a way that I don't have to be sleep-deprived all the time. I normally don't go in to work until almost 9am. I decided that I would try planning my next day's seminary lesson right after class, before I go to work. If that didn't work, I would ask my boss to change my work schedule to go in earlier. The only difference is that I would need to go to bed at 9pm every night. Even if I did miss out on some sleep, the Lord would bless me to be able to do the things I needed to do. I called the High Councilman back in an hour and accepted the call.
I reflected on the last several months, and a few things were impressed upon me--one was that my calling in Young Women's has prepared me for this one. I don't have to learn to love these kids because I already love the youth I work with so much. I love teaching them, being with them, seeing their minds working, seeing them grow and develop. Another was that for a while now I've been feeling like my evenings were empty, that I wasn't doing anything worthwhile. I haven't felt a renewed desire to write (my research is satisfying that creative impulse for the time being), the three girlfriends I used to do things with on weeknights all moved away in September, and there haven't been any hobbies I particularly wanted to pick up. But most strongly, I remembered two gentle promptings I've had over the past few months that I thought about, but didn't do much about. They were to rise earlier, and to study my scriptures more.
That's about as clear-cut an answer as you can be given.
I got stuck in DFW on New Year's Eve and the days after because ice and snow clogged up all the roads between here and there, so what could I do, but read as many seminary training materials as I could? I read the entire teaching handbook, and as I did my excitement grew. I had lunch with Cathy and her mom, who has also been a seminary teacher, and they gave me a lot of great pointers.
By Tuesday morning I was ready! First week gone, and it has been one of the most spiritually enriching weeks of my life. My students are wonderful, I'm slowly learning how to engage them, and planning lessons right after class is working splendidly. We studied D&C 76 all week, and it is full of amazing doctrine. I love those kids so much! Seventeen students, and I learned almost all their names the first day (I did know a handful of them ahead before--two were my flutist buddies in the Nativity!). Now I'm just trying to figure out how to work scripture mastery in the daily plan. Excited for next week!
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