Whose Agenda?

As I drove home from my church assignment today, I listened to The Mormon Channel (It's a great Iphone app, and website). There was a conversation with Elder Gonzales and his wife playing. One of the many great things said was (in my own words, as I remember it), "Whose agenda are you pursuing? Many people pursue their own agenda, but when we serve we need to follow God's agenda. We have to give up our own agenda to be successful in serving Him." My experiences in service today showed me that what Elder Gonzales said is true. 

Usually when we have conferences with different congregations, I and another leader teach the young women a lesson. After that lesson is over we have a small meeting with the area's young women leaders to understand their challenges, to train them, and support and encourage their service. Today was a very busy day for our family - My meetings began at 9 am an hour from home, DH spoke in church at 9 am (at a different meeting), there was a baptism we wanted to attend, and Rach had a piece of poetry in the school art show (AWESOME!) which was 12-2. It seemed there was no way to fit all of these things in, with drive time. Most especially it seemed there was no way for me to meet with leaders after church.

I felt prompted to make Rach's event a priority. So our compromise was to meet with the YW leaders during one of the other meetings (not ideal). This solution made me feel uncomfortable because I felt I wasn't supporting the other leaders by skipping a meeting, and even being a bad example of skipping Sunday School. But life's not perfect and you gotta make things work, so that's what we did, and it turned out to be a good thing. 

A few of the concerns of the leaders were surrounding how Sunday meetings have gone with the girls. So as I taught the lesson with my co-teacher we were able to observe the girls and understand them in a way we couldn't have if the leader meeting hadn't previously taken place. We are now better able to support and counsel the leaders because we knew about the issues before we interacted with the girls in class.

Another way in which the spirit guided me for the best good today was in choosing a topic for the lesson and preparing it. I am always amazed at the consistency of this type of guidance. If I pray that the Lord will guide me to teach what he wants people to learn then the preparation goes much more smoothly and the lesson does too. In short, if I pursue God's agenda instead of my own in teaching, I am successful. Because I did that today I was able to teach YW who are new to this country that they should pursue their dreams. It was perfect for their situation, and the other girls too. In addition, my lesson worked well with the lesson taught by the other leader, even though we didn't coordinate in advance. This happened because we both listened to the spirit. 

If I had to teach and help people without guidance from God I would be lost and confused. I have confidence to teach and to lead because the spirit is with me, encouraging me to love those I teach, and to give me a better agenda than the one I would choose myself. 

Comments

[The Sweet Escape]

1.

Thanks for the post. I have found my best lessons have been the ones when I have let the Lord take over. I'm glad things went well yesterday thank you for your posts!

[Tracy Purdy]

2.

I'm proud to have you as my couselor, and grateful for your efforts!
Love you!