On Saturday, my parents came into town to spend some time with us and to make sure I was doing okay after ol' wisdom teeth had been extracted. We spent part of the day shopping and then went to lunch. They were amazed that I was eating chips and salsa a mere two days after the surgery and that I wasn't swollen. I snuck out of one of the stores where we were shopping and ran next door to Best Buy (where I had a $10 gift card) to buy Peter Pan on DVD for Deidra for Easter. I'm so sneaky - she didn't think she was going to get much of anything for Easter.
After spending time running around with my parents, took a nice nap to recover. Then Deidra and I went back to shopping for a bit in order to find her a cute Easter dress. I had previously purchased a new 3-piece suit, which my mother-in-law had recently hemmed (Thanks Patrice!) - so then we were both ready for church on Easter Sunday.
At some point during our exploits that day, there was a message left on our answering machine. Since our answering machine is located in our spare bedroom, sometimes we don't notice messages for a while. While we were getting ready for bed at 9:30ish (yeah, I know, we're like old people going to bed so early), I notice the message and pressed play, only to hear the following:
"Hello, Brother Hartwell, this is the Stake Executive Secretary. President Seamons [the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency] would like to meet with you tomorrow if you are in town. Please call me back when you get this message and we can get that set up."
That message definitely caught me off guard. One of those that gets your head spinning, wondering what it could be about. I returned the call and set up an appointment for the following morning before church. I certainly did not sleep much that night, and Deidra didn't help much when she said: "Don't worry - they probably just want to call you as the Stake Choir Pianist of something." I hadn't even thought of that possibility! I recently was released as our ward choir pianist, which had been one of the most challenging callings I had ever held. So that made me even more nervous.
As I pulled into the stake center parking lot and walked down the hall to the stake offices, my heart was beating and mind was racing. I was welcomed by President Seamons and took a seat in his office. After a few questions about how school, work, and fmaily life were going, he got down to business:
"Brother Hartwell, as you are probably aware, our Stake Conference is coming up in two weeks, and I would like you to speak as part of the Sunday morning general session in the Tabernacle. How do you feel about that?"
I was speechless for a moment as I let it all sink in. First - relief that it wasn't a long-term stake calling. Then - a return of the nervousness as I thought about speaking in front of such a large congregation. Finally, I gathered all my strength, opened my mouth, and replied that I would certainly do my best and would happy to speak.
So now here I am, mulling over my topic of "faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ" and hoping that I will be able to prepare and present something that will be inspiring to those present. It's definitely a humbling feeling, but I know that it will all turn out well if I rely on my faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and rely upon His Spirit as I ponder and prepare my message.
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