Changing of the Guard

A wise friend wished me congratulations and condolences at receiving the word that this now belongs to me:

The Relief Society is the world’s largest organization for women, and I have been asked to accept the position of president of our local chapter.  My Bishop (unpaid pastor/reverend) called me into his office almost a month ago to tell me he felt strongly that the Lord wanted me to be the new Relief Society president in our ward (congregation organized by geographical location).  He said he had had my name on his mind for two weeks and had been praying and pondering whether this was a position right for me.  I interpreted this to mean that Bishop had tried to get me out of it for two weeks before the Lord fully assured him that I’m it.  I appreciate his efforts   I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve the women and their families.  My dear friend Jessica (who serves as RS president in her ward) told me it was a blessing to wake up every day knowing what you could do to serve the Lord and His people.  I believe that.  I also know I have two little children whose lives I cannot wildly interrupt just because I have this assignment.  After all, my first priority will always be to my own family.  I’m grateful, nervous, humbled and anxious to see what awaits.

Gardens and Kind Friends

When it comes to friends in my life, I have been a lucky girl.  Each time I move to a new place, I worry (why?!) that it will be lonely and I won’t have the close relationships I have had in places past.  I suppose it’s because whenever I’m going some place new, it means I’m leaving some place familiar where I already have such loving kind people around me and I can never quite convince myself I’ll be so lucky again. 

This latest move was no different.  I worried and hoped we would have friends especially since we’ve moved so far away from family, and I can’t say the smallest part of how I feel about my friends here.  I have been so blessed.

I was visiting teaching one such friend recently who asked me how I was and what I needed help with.  I told her that I was trying to clear out the many thousands of tiny lava rocks from my backyard flower bed so that I could turn the space into a vegetable garden.  It was taking HOURS AND HOURS and, because I didn’t have any proper tools for it, the work was just absurdly long.  I said this because it was on my mind—not because I expected her to do anything about it.  That weekend, I went to Oregon to visit some family and I came home to this:

This sweet friend had recruited her husband, another wonderful friend and all their tools to the cause of creating for me a beautiful garden space!  When I saw it, I cried.  I could not BELIEVE someone would do something like this.  Blessed? Yes, I think so.

Now, it’s taken me a few weeks to add to the glory of this space now, but after a pretty seriously failed attempt at starting my own garden from seeds, I purchased these plants at a local plant sale and looking forward to a summer of salsa canning!

This last one is “Caleb’s Garden.”  It’s got 8 strawberry plants in it.  Caleb could eat strawberries all day if I let him, and I’ve heard they can get a little unruly if you don’t keep them tamed, so I decided this handy little box would be a great place for “Caleb” to grow “his” strawberries.  The first green berries are starting to grow!! YAY!!

I’ve kept two children alive for 4 and almost 1 years (respectively).  Why can’t I keep plants alive?  Because they don’t cry?  That’s a pretty sorry truth, if it is.  Wish me luck!