New Beginnings Talk

I had the great opportunity to speak at New Beginnings for our ward on Feb. 28th.  I love the opportunity to speak but it has been about 10-12 years since I have spoken to a youth group so I was a bit more nervous than usual.  Their theme was "Diamonds in the Rough" but my specific assignment was to talk about the role of trials and tribulations in your lives and how to deal with them to become stronger.  That is a huge topic and so much of our adult lives is spent learning ourselves how to manage and overcome difficulties.  I didn't want to overwhelm the Young Women.  I know that the things I faced as a teenager were the building blocks to how I managed bigger problems as an adult but I didn't want to say or imply that more difficulties are ahead than you can now imagine, because when you are a teenager sometimes it is all you can do to manage what is right in front of you at that moment.  And, of course, many teenagers face difficulties that I barely knew about as a teenager.

Another difficulty was that my time for preparing kept getting postponed with one task or another in the weeks beforehand.  Life was busy as it often is, but I did feel a calm as I tried to take each task as it came.  Wednesday afternoon I sat down to actually write down my talk and make final decisions as to what scriptures to use, etc.  I was making good progress when I got a phone call from one of the ladies I visiting teach.  She needed a short ride home from a nearby store so I said I would and hopped in the car in my PJ's bottoms, t-shirt and slippers to give her a ride.  She is a single older sister in our ward who has some medical issues that make driving not advisable.  No problem I thought to give her a lift---doing good is always a good approach if you need help with something else like a talk--right?  Well, that is true, but it turned out that my friend had driven and been in a car accident (which she didn't mention to me on the phone) so it wasn't a quick trip after all.  I got to hang out in the Office Max parking lot in my PJ's and slippers while things got sorted out and then get her settled at home, etc.  It was amazing as sisters showed up for other reasons who were able to help us with the situation.  I got home in time to print out my rough draft, get dressed and go to the Church--7:00 on the dot.  But the talk went fine even though I had not even reviewed my entire draft or practice the talk from start to finish.  I felt a sweet peace even though my preparation was not the same as usual.  Life can be interesting like that.

However one of my new favorite quotes which I used in my talk:

(By Eliza R. Snow)
"I will go forward....I will smile at the rage of the tempest, and ride fearlessly and triumphantly across the boisterous ocean of circumstance...and the 'testimony of Jesus" will light up a lamp that will guide my vision through the portals of immortality."  Isn't that awesome?!!!!