Sunday night, my phone rang. It was a number that I didn't recognize, and as I was avoiding a few people (don't judge me--you all do it, too), I almost didn't pick up. Then I decided to just deal with whatever problem it was, and I answered.
Me: Hello?
Person: Hi, Liz?
Me: Yes.
Person: This is Brother Williams (from my bishopric).
Me: (relieved that it's not the people I'm avoiding) Oh, hi Brother Williams. How are you?
Bro. Williams: Good, how are you?
Me: Great! ("Great" and "Super" are my standard answers to this question)
Bro. Williams: Well, that's better than you're going to be in a minute.
Interesting, huh? I was thinking that the phone call was something dreadful, and it turned out to be. He was calling to ask me to speak in Sacrament Meeting this week. I lived in my last ward for two years and never had to speak, and I've lived in this ward for less than two months. I don't think this bodes well for the future.
My topic: creating an environment conducive to listening to the Spirit. After he and I hung up, I resumed watching TV, checking email, and reading textbooks. Simultaneously. While surrounded by boxes of unpacked things. Seriously. Then, it occurred to me that this was not necessarily an environment conducive to listening to the Spirit. Huh.
I spent the rest of the week juggling work, school, and writing the talk. A huge amount of progress was made at work, a small amount at school, and really none of the talk. I have got to re-prioritize.
This evening, I found a quiet place by the Provo river to sit and read textbooks. It was nice to get a change of scenery, even if I can't get a change of tasks. Now, I have to finish the homework I need to accomplish today and gather my thoughts for my talk.
Silver lining on the "didn't write my talk yet cloud"? I'm a presenter professionally, so I can talk for a few minutes without too much stress.
Also, I'm speaking first, so if my talk runs short, it's someone else's problem.
5 comments:
That sounds like a fun topic. I am sure you will do fantastic on your talk. I bet it will even come across the way you want it to, knowing you like I do:)
(Mine always come out with some thing that wasn't quite what I meant)
You are good at speaking..I think it runs in the family.
At least you are getting this out of the way now. You won't have to worry about speaking in church anymore.
Ive got to say... the last sentence of your post is how i live my life! Dont stress about my talk being long enough cause its my husbands problem if its too short! :P
How did the talk go?
It went ok...not great, but not terrible, and now it's over, so they won't ask me to speak again! Maybe ever...
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