A few hours later, when I noticed that it was almost time to leave for church, I realized I hadn't ask anyone for a ride. I immediately thought of my friend Andrew, who often offers me rides to church. Andrew, who is also in the Elders Quorum Presidency, is someone who is always seeking for opportunities to serve, and I knew it. But that Sunday, he was the only member of the presidency in town, so I thought that I should ask someone else, because he had probably already a lot of things to do for his calling. Wouldn't it be selfish to ask him to add to his already busy life a long five-minutes drive to my house to pick me up for church? I wanted to support him in his calling, and I thought that if I ask for a ride, I would become burden to him.
However, I couldn't think about any one else and I felt that I should ask him, even if I had the doubts mentioned above. I decided to call him. He didn't answer. A few minutes later I called him again. No answer. I then sent him a text message and decided that I would wait only a few minutes before trying with someone else. I waited some minutes, and when I was about to look for someone else, he responded. He said that he could give me a ride, and he asked me the most important question of the day: "DO YOU HAVE BREAD AT HOME?" He had just being informed that there was no bread for sacrament, and had now to take care of that, about 45 minutes before our sacrament meeting!
When I received his text, the image of the bag of bread in the pantry that morning came to my mind! It was like a vision! I didn't even went to check, I rapidly texted him back saying that I had bread and that he could take it for sacrament.
He then came to pick me up. I asked him how was his Sunday, and he said: really good, until 30 minutes ago (the moment when he got informed about the bread situation). But now, there was another problem: we had to pick up another friend, and we would probably be a little late for church, but the bread had to be there early. Fortunately, a guy from our ward lives next to my house, so Andrew stopped there. That guy wasn't going to our ward that day, but his sister was, and she kindly accepted to bring the bread to the bishopric so they could ask someone to prepare the sacrament.
When we finally left to pick up our friend, I asked Andrew again: so, now, how is your Sunday? He responded: much better! He noticed that after a woman (me) had provided the bread, it was another woman who would bring the bread to the bishopric, so I said: well, glad to know that women don't need the priesthood to help the brethren to serve in their priesthood duties. He responded: yeah, that's how women and the priesthood work together!
When we got to our friend's house, we had to knock at the door to let him know that we were there. I volunteer to do it, so Andrew could take those brief seconds to call a member of the bishopric to inform them about the bread that was on its way to church.
After all those adventures (in less than 45 minutes), we were finally ready to leave for church: there was bread for the sacrament, it was at church on time, the bishopric knew they had to ensure that someone would prepare everything for it, and our friend and I had a ride to get to church... a little late but we had a ride!
After all those adventures (in less than 45 minutes), we were finally ready to leave for church: there was bread for the sacrament, it was at church on time, the bishopric knew they had to ensure that someone would prepare everything for it, and our friend and I had a ride to get to church... a little late but we had a ride!
We arrived to church just on time for the sacrament hymn. As we received the bread, I felt so grateful to know that I had being an instrument in the hands of the Lord to have bread for sacrament that day. Taking the bread and the water are the most important moments of our Sunday meetings, and I had play a part of it that Sunday.
After church, as I was waiting for Andrew, with the bag of the remaining bread in my hands, I noticed that it was a honey wheat bread. I told my friend Brandon "hey, look at this, today we got honey wheat bread for sacrament!". He laughed and said that if I was in charge of sacrament, I would prepare a whole meal every week. Indeed, if women, being women, were to be in charge of sacrament, we would be concerned every week not only about having bread for sacrament, but which kind of bread we would have. We would even try a different bread recipe EVERY week (and probably apologize because is not as good as we wanted it to be). That would totally make us miss the mark, and worry more about the taste of the bread instead of the humble Savior who is to be represented by the bread. But the Lord, in his wisdom, gave that responsibility to priesthood, because he knows that those faithful priesthood holders would know how help us to focus in what sacrament is all about: the Christ!
As I was pondering about that later, I remembered the feelings I had that morning. There was anything weird or abnormal in asking Andrew for a ride. It wasn't the first time, but something was opposed to that idea. Why? Because I had the bread! That was my conclusion! I noticed that sometimes when I want to do something normal and that is good, I have those thoughts that make me doubt about it, but when I don't pay attention to it, something good end up happening. It's what happened that day! Since early that morning, I noticed I had bread at home! The Lord made me noticed that.
But Satan recognizes the importance of sacrament, and he knows Andrew's desire to faithfully serve in his callings and that he would be worried about the missing bread for sacrament. That's why he tried to make me doubt about asking Andrew for that favor: he knew that, because Andrew's willingness to serve, he would accept to take me to church, and by the same way he would get the bread for sacrament. He also knew that the other young lady from our ward who lives in my neighborhood would be willing to bring the bread to a member of our bishopric. The Lord prepared the means! We only had to take them, and to do what we felt was the best to do.
Satan will often try to make us doubt of the good things we can accomplish and do to serve others. I used to be an independent women who didn't need anyone to go where I had to be or do whatever I was asked to do. But now, living in a town where the absence of public transportation handicaps me, I've learned to ask for help, to ask for rides, and it is a glorious blessing to have these formidable friends who are so willingly happy to serve me in these circumstances.
I haven't been ordained to the priesthood, and I don't have any problem with that! I love being a woman and the opportunities to serve that have been giving to me because of womanhood. I grew up surrounded by men and that's probably why supporting the priesthood is so important to me. And I am grateful to know I can not only give opportunities to serve to the priesthood when I ask them for help, but that I can also serve them and help them in their duties. It is indeed a team work!
It's interesting to notice that the reason why I thought I should ask someone else than Andrew for a ride that morning was because I wanted to support him in his priesthood duties and didn't wanted to become a burden to him... but because I asked him, he was able not only to serve me with a ride, but to find also a way to lighten his burden by getting bread for sacrament and to be relieved from that last-minute contretemps.
Yesterday, for women conference, it is a priesthood holder who gave me and two of my friends, a ride to the church building for it, and another priesthood holder who gave us a ride back from it. It was because of two righteous priesthood holders that we got the blessing to attend a women meeting and to be uplifted with other women.Oh how grateful I was for those priesthood holders!
Not having the priesthood doesn't make us less than those fabulous brethren. It completes us, and helps us to work all together, each of us offering what has been given to us, as woman or as man, to serve in the Lord's kingdom.
I am grateful for the fantastic priesthood holders in my life, specially in this place where I don't have much and where priesthood holders like Andrew bless and serve me in bounteous ways. And I am grateful to know that, even if I don't have much, the Lord gives me enough to help and support these marvelous brethren in their priesthood holders, even if it's only with a bag of honey wheat bread!
Yesterday, for women conference, it is a priesthood holder who gave me and two of my friends, a ride to the church building for it, and another priesthood holder who gave us a ride back from it. It was because of two righteous priesthood holders that we got the blessing to attend a women meeting and to be uplifted with other women.Oh how grateful I was for those priesthood holders!
Not having the priesthood doesn't make us less than those fabulous brethren. It completes us, and helps us to work all together, each of us offering what has been given to us, as woman or as man, to serve in the Lord's kingdom.
I am grateful for the fantastic priesthood holders in my life, specially in this place where I don't have much and where priesthood holders like Andrew bless and serve me in bounteous ways. And I am grateful to know that, even if I don't have much, the Lord gives me enough to help and support these marvelous brethren in their priesthood holders, even if it's only with a bag of honey wheat bread!
