Feeling Sad

I have been serving as 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency for just over a year now. I got quite an unexpected surprise on Sunday to find out that our Primary President was being released and I didn’t realise until later that counselors always got released at the same time (since a new President always gets to choose her own counselors).

Anna (the President), Anita and I had all anticipated that we would continue serving together for about three years (the average length of time for a presidency), but Anna’s husband got called to be the Elders Quorum President and the Stake President did not want her and her husband to both have callings that required a lot of time.

As a presidency over the last year we have endured a lot. Firstly; being thrown in the deep end and pulling off a great sacrament presentation 6 weeks after we were called as the new presidency, second; a ward change which meant loosing over half of our teachers, then a couple of months later a new Bishop, third; Anna taking time off to have her baby and hence Anita and I taking care of sharing time for three months to give Anna a break, and fourth; working hard to reactivate children and learning how to deal with 3 of our primary children that have special needs (ADHD).

The unexpected news of us being released has left us feeling as if we are all hanging...we were just putting together our next primary presentation and we were all so excited about our plans for the last activity of the year to take the children to the temple for a picnic.

It’s been a fun journey and one that’s ended way too soon. Serving in Primary has been the best calling I’ve ever had. It’s the greatest place to be in church on Sundays and I can’t imagine not being ‘down’ in primary from now on. My testimony has grown sooo much, my confidence has grown so much and my knowledge of the gospel has grown sooo much. I started off in Primary being afraid to teach sharing time for fear that I didn’t know enough, but I quickly learned that if one has the desire to know things, then it will be given unto them. I’ve gotten to know many of the children individually and I’ve become connected to them that they feel apart of my life. I’ve experienced the joy of getting inactive children to church and how great it feels to see them smile and a have a good time on Sundays. I’ve enjoyed learning from our President and realizing through her thoughts and actions that she truly had the wisdom of a ‘President’. I’ve enjoyed finding ways to help the teachers manage their classes and to help them feel connected and appreciated as part of the ward, as opposed to being isolated and forgotten about. I’ve enjoyed learning to sing Primary songs since I was too old for Primary once I joined the church, and I’ve loved hearing how powerful and amazing the children’s voices are when they are singing together with every thing they’ve got. I've enjoyed being with Hayden and Ashton in Primary and witnessing how they participate and i've enjoyed knowing exactly what they've been taught each week. I've endured Sundays that haven't gone so well and have caused me to think, 'I'm not sure this calling is for me' and I've endured Sundays that have been the best Sundays I've ever experienced at church. My calling has not only strengthened me, but our family too....I feel like there was so much more for me to learn.

Yes, sadly, a journey/calling that’s ended way too soon.

(And just for the record, I'm still a terrible singer and I still get the words and actions wrong to some of the Primary songs, but I loved learning them!)