It's Not About You

When it comes to service, you've got to remember that.
It's not about you.
When I got called to serve on Seminary Council I was ECSTATIC.
I looked up to the SemCo so much!
I wanted so badly to be in their position and be able to serve in such a neat calling.
When the Lord decided that he needed me to serve, I happily accepted.
But, after I was set apart I was reminded of something.
It's not about you. Period.
I was called to serve the students of Copper Hills Seminary, not to put on a flashy show of awesomeness.

At our first meeting Brother Waite gave us a talk by Spencer W. Kimball called Jesus: The Perfect Leader. (look it up, it's really good!) He told us to go home, study the talk, and come back with ideas on how we could be better leaders. Talk about the most humbling experience of a lifetime. That calling did so much for me. I have never done so much underground service in my life.
Many people don't understand just how much work goes into a calling like that. I had to wake up at 5:30 every Friday in order to make it to meetings on time. I stayed after school many times cutting papers, praying for students, helping teachers, making videos, cleaning... everything you could ever think of. And know one knew I was doing it. It was kind of awesome! I loved being able to help people out without anyone knowing. It definitely changed my views on service. It does not always have to be out in the open. In fact, it's better if it isn't!
The kids I served with were absolutely incredible. I know that the 12 of us were called to work together because everyone's strengths were matched with someone else's weakness and when we all put our heads together, we were unstoppable. When we had big decisions to make we would go to the temple together and pray about it until we were all unanimous. We always made sure to think about what was best for the students, even if that meant a lot of work for us.
I never heard one word of complaint from anyone. Everyone was always so willing to help out and I loved that. I loved being in such a great environment where I could just be lifted up by their great examples. I didn't have to worry about being made fun of or judged. They were the sweetest, most caring kids ever. We all built good friendships as we went through a lot of hard times together.
One of the hardest things that we had to do (well, for me at least) was helping out with Jaxen Henderson's funeral. Her mother requested that we help set up chairs at the church and Brother Waite told us that it would be nice if we went to the viewing together. Now, I don't do well with stuff like that. It just scares me and makes me so distressed. Thankfully Jacob, Megan, and Ashley were there to help me get through that night at the viewing. And when we finally met Jaxen's mother, she cried and hugged us all and told us how thankful she was for our help and support. As hard as it was for me to go to that viewing, I'm glad I did it. Because again I remembered that it wasn't about me. It was about helping other people who needed it. There were so many people we made cards for and visited when hard times hit. I loved being a rescue committee. I loved being the shoulder for someone to cry on. It made me feel so good. It gave me the purest feeling of joy. Something that a lot of people don't get to experience.

Now, I'm not trying to brag or anything. I mean, this is my personal blog. I just don't ever want to forget about this experience I had. I never want to forget the feelings I had because of this calling. I never want to forget why service is so important. I want to be able to look back on this and be so thankful for it. Because I am. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father trusted me with something like that. I am forever changed because of it.

I absolutely love them.