Where do I fit in the kingdom?\u00a0 And does it matter if I fit?\u00a0 What if I have found my own way, and fitting isn\u2019t important?\u00a0 What if it is important to me that I fit in, but I just don\u2019t?<\/p>\n
Men don\u2019t really ask these questions of themselves, but I think women tend to.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s a self-confidence issue.\u00a0 That is usually something we women fight a lot of the time, unfortunately.<\/p>\n
In every ward there is the \u201cmusic person\u201d, the \u201cparty organizer\u201d, the \u201cscripture guru\u201d.\u00a0 Come on, you know what I\u2019m talking about.\u00a0 Certain women just demand that label to be placed upon them.\u00a0 They\u2019re good at it, but they also somehow demand it, and we cater to that.\u00a0 What happens when two or three people are good at the same thing, then what?\u00a0 Sometimes these women become great friends and \u201cpowerhouses\u201d within the ward.\u00a0 They become well known within the stake and it goes on from there.\u00a0 Sometimes, the women don\u2019t become friends and the more vocal one gets all the attention (callings) and the other one doesn\u2019t get any opportunity.<\/p>\n
Some of us need labels painted on us to feel important.\u00a0 Often those personality types are likeable, so we don\u2019t mind.\u00a0 Sometimes the callings fit the person for years, but what happens when the calling changes and that pedestal turns into a gutter and instant learning curve?<\/p>\n
What about sisters who don\u2019t feel they have any particular talent to share, where do they fit in?\u00a0 Do they secretly hope to be asked to be a part of a committee?\u00a0 Do they prefer to not be asked ever?\u00a0 Do they worry about identity?<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the shy talented person who consistently gets overlooked.<\/p>\n
I discovered something about myself.\u00a0 I like to volunteer second; not first, not never, but second.\u00a0 Someone else already was the \u201cfirst one to volunteer for everything\u201d in the ward, so I didn\u2019t want to supersede her, but I like to volunteer occasionally.\u00a0 Somehow there\u2019s no pressure in that position.\u00a0 I don\u2019t let anyone down that way.\u00a0 If there is absolutely no one willing to do IT, fine I\u2019ll do it.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t have that obligation, or drive, to \u201cperform\u201d either.<\/p>\n
After living in a ward for a lot of years, you get to know what people can or are willing to do.\u00a0 When meeting someone knew, I will always give them the third degree.\u00a0 I ask what their interests and talents are.\u00a0 I keep a mental list and know whom to call on for help.\u00a0 I have a problem asking the same people over and over again when in my head I know there is someone else capable, but maybe a little shy about it.\u00a0 I am all about spreading opportunities.\u00a0 Yeah, it\u2019s easy to call on the person who is THE person to ask.\u00a0 They will probably say yes, but what about the other fourteen people who never get asked.\u00a0 Everyone needs to be needed sometime.\u00a0 And maybe they\u2019ll say no.\u00a0 It\u2019s entirely possible and you might have to end up going back to THAT same old person again.\u00a0 But it\u2019s worth asking around first.<\/p>\n
I have lived in a ward where there were not enough people to fill the callings.\u00a0 Everyone had three to five callings and everyone was busy helping one another.\u00a0 It was great to feel needed and sought after to do whatever needed to be done.<\/p>\n
I have also lived in a very talented ward.\u00a0 Needs were easily met.\u00a0 I found myself not needed some of the time.\u00a0 That was okay, but after a while I would get antsy.\u00a0 I guess I\u2019m one of those who needs something painted on me, yet I\u2019m too shy to demand it.\u00a0 So, my solution is to volunteer in town, outside of the ward.\u00a0 It keeps me personally satisfied and still needed somewhere.\u00a0\u00a0 I still have the option of volunteering for a few things here and there in the ward, or accepting a calling as needed.\u00a0 It works for me.\u00a0 The bottom line is the Lord can depend on me whenever He needs me.\u00a0 The calling doesn\u2019t define me, but I am always willing to work in the kingdom wherever I\u2019m needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Where do I fit in the kingdom?\u00a0 And does it matter if I fit?\u00a0 What if I have found my own way, and fitting isn\u2019t important?\u00a0 What if it is important to me that I fit in, but I just don\u2019t? Men don\u2019t really ask these questions of themselves, but I think women tend to.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[484],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-relief-society-challenge-ideas"],"yoast_head":"\n