Young Women

Many of you know that recently I was called to be Young Women's president in our ward. I got my new calling in June with mixed emotions. I was so excited to get back with the girls that I got to know over a year ago. We have about 30 awesome young women in our ward - (FYI 12-18 year old girls), but having to be in charge of the whole program (Sundays, activities every week, meetings, etc.) sounded intimidating. I like to be one of those people who supports others and I am not a big fan of being up in front of people all the time. However, I knew from past experience as primary president, that things would work out - I would not be alone in my responsibilities and the blessings would far outweigh the sacrifice of my time. It has only been a few weeks, but I feel my life so enriched because of my association with these awesome girls. Being with them makes me excited for the time when my girls are teenagers - I am so grateful for the standards the church provides to help the girls navigate this crazy world. (http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,6924-1,00.html) I am impressed at how great these girls have turned out so far - they are well grounded and really a joy to be around. We have a lot of fun. So far we've had a BBQ and karaoke night - hilarious, a free carwash at the church and a planning night for future activities.

The first week I got to attend Young Women's as the president, I issued a challenge to the girls to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover before school starts. It is 531 pages long, which might not sound lengthy, but reading scripture is different from reading, say, a novel. It is quite a challenge for the girls, but it has been a great experience so far. One, because I am doing the challenge too (I can't be a hypocrite!) and I am benefiting from "Feasting on the Word" as we've entitled the challenge. Second, it has been awesome to hear the experiences the girls are having reading the scriptures and the things they are learning. I am excited for our Break"feast" we will have in September to celebrate together and share our experiences.

When I issued the challenge, I brought up the story of my first time trying to run. I told them how I was just giving it a shot and didn't expect to get much out of it. I didn't really think I would get that far, but I kept going. Even when my legs hurt and I just wanted to stop, I kept going. Then I started to notice how it felt to be exercising my heart and my body - it felt good to be doing something good for my body and as I got farther and farther, I was so proud of myself. The rest of the day I noticed that I felt more energized and after running a few times, I didn't get winded so easy after running up the stairs or playing with the girls. A lot of times we limit ourselves from things we think we "can't" do. It is so liberating to break down those misconceptions about ourselves. I shared with them that this is just like scripture reading - it might sound boring and pointless at first, but if you can stick with it through the times when you just want to stop, you will have those "lightbulb" moments and recognize all kinds of miracles in your life. It has been neat to hear the girls talk about and realize how cool the scriptures are and how much they can get out of them. The scriptures are so awesome and the only way for the girls to find that out is for them to see for themselves. Maybe we'll move on to the bible next . . . we're on a roll. (o: