Hump Day?

This post will be a little introspective. I looked at my calendar for the first time in a few weeks. We decided it was time to get rid of all the things that don't apply any more and put all our Zoom meetings on there, so we don't overlap. Yeah, we're getting busy again. Ha ha.

On the calendar I saw a note I wrote at least a year (or maybe two) ago - "Hump Day," this Thursday. What do I mean by that? The average tenure of a bishop or branch president is five years. It can be much more or much less, but five years is a pretty normal expectation. If that's the case with us, we are now halfway through. It's been two and a half years.

This is NOT like when you finish two laps running the mile in middle school PE and think, "Yay! I'm half done! Oh no, I'm only half done!" But it does evoke some mixed feelings. Feelings like, "Wow, I can't believe time has gone so fast! Actually, it seems like we've been in the branch forever." and "I've learned so much and come so far! And I am also overwhelmed by all the opportunities missed and things I still need to learn...and time could be running out!"

I challenged my kids to take a few minutes and ponder on the things they've learned and the blessings they've seen in their lives over the last 2 1/2 years. I thought I'd do that, too.

I think that one of the biggest blessings/learning things for me has been the experience of becoming "one of the least of these" for a little bit. My whole life, I've been among the talented, capable, leader sorts. I'm grateful for the talents I've been given, and my goal is to just use them to bless God's children as much as I can. But when you're not very fluent in the local language, it doesn't matter so much how talented you are - your ability to contribute is limited. I remember growing up listening to women who had immigrated from Latin America bearing testimonies in church. They rarely held "important" callings, nor were they asked to speak in church as often as everyone else. I think I know what that feels like now. It's not a completely negative thing - there are some hard things, but also some beautiful parts of occupying that spot in a group. I think that going forward, I have a lot more understanding for the people who don't quite fit in - who feel their own shortcomings, and just hope their offering is enough. I've realized that you can feel simultaneously thrilled and scared to death at being asked to participate - and how much a big smile from the people around you can give you the courage to keep giving your clunky, awkward service.

When we joined the branch, not all my kids were thrilled to be there. It wasn't easy to sit through church that was hard to understand. And it was tough to get up much enthusiasm to learn a language "in your spare time." I'm happy to say that all my kids have overcome their issues, and found their place in the branch. I think this is due to 1.) lots of unconditional love from wonderful leaders and friends and 2.) the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We went into this trusting that if God wanted us to do this, He obviously had plans for making it work without messing up our family. And that has been abundantly fulfilled.

So what do my thoughts look like, going forward? First off, I need to learn to interpret. So far, I've shied away from that, but I think I'm at the point now where I need to practice. I don't like that idea, because if I'm practicing, someone who needs interpretation is getting a poor experience....but, I think that's something I need to learn to do. I also think I need to start to get out of my Primary teacher shell, and make more effort to meet and talk to other adults at church.

Happy hump day!