Changes and Refining & Church

Yesterday was an exciting day.
first we only had two meetings at Church
because we had a Stake Reorganization meeting later
in the day...
the kids were delighted at the shorter meeting.
So was Mr W.  (lol)

I have to say though,
our Sacrament meeting was awesome!
We had just two speakers--
one newly-called young missionary B., (to Mexico)
and a young man, A. who just returned from his mission to Italy.

There was such a contrast between the two,
it stayed with me all day, really.
B. spoke first--
he is not a very eloquent, out-going young man,
but rather soft-spoken, shy.
Just a really good kid.

He said he'd written his talk earlier
but felt impressed to ditch his notes
and speak simply on the Atonement of Jesus Christ
and his testimony on that.
B. was earnest
and at times emotional
raw
the one thing he said that still rings in my ears
was this:
If, when we repent of our sins
and the Savior remembers them
no more
why should we?
We remember them to protect ourselves
from repeating mistakes,
but that we shouldn't be weighed down
with the guilt anymore.

I really soaked that in...

When B. sat down,
he looked relieved, a bit frazzled even
from the experience.
I was too.  I'd been sorta clinched up
listening to B.--
silently praying for him to be able to express
the desires of his heart
in a way that would bless him
and the rest of us.


Then A. presented at the podium.
I remember A. when he was just a squirrelly kid
running with the other scouts around the Church building
years ago...
I hadn't seen him in 5 years since we moved,
he graduated high school
and left for his mission to Italy.

When he stood up,
he was composed
and focused.
He spoke with humility.
His fingers poured over his scriptures
with ease and exactness.
His message was beautiful.
He spoke of Christ
like one who knows Christ.


The longer I listened to A.
the more calm and peaceful
I became.
He spoke of the Symbols of Easter:
-the rolling stone
-the linens that wrapped the Savior in the tomb--
specifically the napkin that covered His head;
how it was not cast aside and lay in a heap
but found to be carefully folded.
A sign that in those times,
meant
"I will return."
And His disciples understood that symbol.
-the lamb
-and two other things that escape me right now.
A. brought it all together in an offering
that encourages God's children
to have Hope in this Life
for a grander purpose in the eternal life to come.
just beautiful.

As I sat observing these two young men
this is what stuck out:
Here is B.--
a willing, worthy and prepared servant
much like an unpolished instrument
ready to serve a mission.
He has no idea what lay ahead of him
for the next two years.
He has a new language to learn
a new culture that he will be immersed in
and will leave all else behind.
But he is willing to do whatever is required.
I love his example.

And there is A.--
the polished instrument.
He too, left all behind
and learned the beautiful Italian language
lived among the people
ate their food
learned their culture
and came to love and be loved of them.
A. is an example of what becomes of us
all
when we give our will to God.
When we sacrifice our own
"I wants" for others.

It occurs to me only now,
that B. could stand for "BEFORE"
and
A. for "AFTER".
wow.

It was an awesome meeting.

Then at the Stake "shake-up"
we had a great time
as ward boundaries changed,
ward names were changed,
a new ward was created
and many new callings were extended
while many us of were released.

We're in a new ward
with old friends,
a new Bishop.
No callings-which is weird.
A change in the meetinghouse we'll attend
and a new time--ouch! (instead of 11am, we'll be going at 9am)

Change is good.
It pushes us out of comfort zone
and forces us to
show our best
in the new surroundings.

The fact is,
we're in this "new" ward
about 10 years ago
before the area grew so big
that now 6 wards make up the same area.
We saw familiar faces as we all stood
together
as the newly-reorganized ward
and
I'm happy.
This is gonna be good.
We're in great company.

This is my time to be refined.
Each ward has their own "language"
and some minor "custom-changes"
and we'll be in a different meeting place--
it's all to refine us
stretch us
and grow us.
Yeah, I'm really excited that it's my turn to
be in the Hands of the Refiner....
I hope I can glow brightly
and come out polished.