Released

People keep asking me if it is a huge relief to be released as Hamilton Ward Relief Society President.  Answer:  No, not yet.  I feel like my body failed me because my heart still wanted to continue serving.  Of course I will have many callings throughout my life but this one was extra special and hard to let go of.  I have cried everyday for the last week.  I like to believe it is all part of the healing process.  Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about what I have learned as a Relief Society President.  I will attempt to summarize my talk as follows:

I have just returned from completing a 21 month mission as the Hamilton Ward Relief Society President.  (insert giggles here;)  One of the first ward counsel's I attended was all about Peter learning to walk on the water.  Throughout this calling I have felt like I have been the one trying to walk on water but as the calling has gone on, I have witnessed the sisters of our ward walking on the water and having faith in Christ.

One of my favorite Christian singers is Britt Nicole.  I would like to share part of the lyrics of her song called "Walk on the Water":
"You look around, staring back at you
Another wave of doubt, will it pull you under? You wonder
What if I'm overtaken? What if I never make it?
What if no one's there? Will You hear my prayer?

When you take that first step into the unknown
You know that He won't let you go

So what are you waiting for? What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities, they try to hold to you
But you know you're made for more, so don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all it takes, and you can walk on the water, too"
Lyrics from eLyrics.net

I decided to interview the people closest to me to find out what they learned as I served as RS President and this is what they had to say.

Will:  Being a RS Pres. is like being a female Bishop!
Me:  Bishop Rogers does way more than me...I don't even come close and thankfully that is not my role.

Wendy:  (Zumba Instructor):  What a sacred honor and privilege!
Me:  Rather than stress about the to-do list, once I focused on the sacredness of the calling, everything fell into place.

Kristen:  You always visited people whenever needed no matter what time, even if you were in the middle of cooking dinner.
Me:  My most treasured memories were learning how to follow the promptings of the spirit and showing up to a sister's home when she needed it.  My family sacrificed me quite a bit.

Carlie:  Secret Agent Meetings...aka Stewardship Interview with Bishop
Me:  Our secret agent meetings allowed both Bishop and I a superhero recharge.  Did you know our Bishop actually wears a cape.  We both just tuck it in so you couldn't see it;)  Haha!

Carlie also helped with the creation of the tri-fold visiting teaching board.  She saw me struggling trying to redo vt assignments one day.  I told her that in a perfect world I would have a board with nametags of all the sisters so I could visually see the balance.  Carlie said, "Then make it!"  My children helped me create the vt board within the next 24 hours and I had achieved the perfect world.  I was able to present my board at stake leadership training and two other wards have created boards now too.

Joe:  I watched Allie learn to delegate.  She usually likes to do things herself so it was awesome to see her let go and trust her counselors and board members to get the job done.  
Me:  Joe also taught me the only constant thing in life is change.  When the boundaries were redrawn, we had many new people to meet and our ward had 48 callings to fill.  Joe helped me embrace the change as a positive thing.

Carlie:  Mom became more open to friendship and meeting new people she might have not otherwise met.
Me:  Who knew that my two closest friends would end up being Janet (secretary) and Sondra (compassionate service leader).

Jansen:  You went from living in your own world where all you ever talked about was yourself to focusing on others.  You also learned time management.
Me:  Wow, I hadn't realized how self centered I was.  And the time management....yep, with working full time, teaching Zumba, being treasurer for our HOA, going to BYU online, and oh yeah being a mom and wife...somehow through the grace of God all things were taken care of.

Brian:  (High Priest Group Leader):  We learned to make decisions based on principles.  Ie:  House of Order, Word of Wisdom, Welfare.  Brian, Bishop, and I were the Three Amigos and went through the learning curve together.  We also learned how to do our first funeral together.

Bishop Rogers:  I learned how to delegate.  He taught me the importance of the hometeachers and visiting teachers as first responders.  Effective communication always gets the job done.  
Me:  Over the time I served, I had over 300 emails.  In the last email, Bishop thanked me for my consecration.  I had never thought of it that way...I was just doing what needed to be done.  But I truly feel I did consecrate myself to this calling.

Jansen:  When I got released last Sunday, Jansen leaned over to Joe and said, "Yay!  We get mom back!"

I am so thankful to all the sisters I got to serve and served with.  (Ronda, Liesl, Holli, Janet, Sondra, VT Board, Instructors, various committees)
I am excited to sustain Jani Meuchel and her new counselors as they learn to walk on the water too.
And I can't wait to hear in a couple of years what she learned in the sacred privilege of serving our 147 sisters!