Young women,
As each Winter ends and the school year comes to a close, I often think about change. As a kid and teen, I was always so excited for Summer and for the school-year to be over. Each Spring brings a time for change. New flowers poke their heads up from the ground and start to blossom. Our fruit trees grow flowers and buds to soon be delicious peaches, cherries, and apples.
As you girls end the school year, some of you are ending your chapters in elementary school, junior high, or high school. I was even more excited each time the end of the school year, meant the coming of a new chapter in my life.
Change can be super exciting! It can also be scary at times. When my high school journey ended, I knew it would be my last Summer with all of my friends before we went our separate ways for college. I was going to be flying out across the entire country to come to Utah for school at BYU and had no idea that my life was REALLY about to change so much as I met my future spouse that year and ended up staying in Utah for much longer than my anticipated 4 years.
Your Heavenly Father has so much in store for you! More than you can even fathom. I had no idea at 18 years old, as I journeyed across the country, that at 36 years old my life would be what it is today! There have been so many ups and downs and changes, some expected and some very unexpected.
Things that helped me through all of my life changes:
- Stay close to the Savior. The Savior is the ONLY one who will never abandon or leave you. He is there when you feel all alone, when you fail, and is there to cheer you on when you are super successful as well. He is your advocate and best friend and loves you so much! No matter what happens over the next year, He will be there for you!
- Keep your testimony! Some of you going out to college will not have parents to tell you to go to church or read your scriptures. All of a sudden it is super easy to sleep in, and skip church, forget your prayers and take the easy way out. Keep the fire burning your testimony, alive and well fed, so that it doesn’t burn out.
- Stay positive! Keep a gratitude journal or find other ways to see the good in life all around you. Elder Bednar in 2005 soon after being called as an Apostle related this story. “ This afternoon I want to describe and discuss a spiritual impression I received a few moments before I stepped to this pulpit during the Sunday morning session of general conference last October. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf had just finished speaking and had declared his powerful witness of the Savior. Then we all stood together to sing the intermediate hymn that previously had been announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley. The intermediate hymn that morning was “Redeemer of Israel” (Hymns, no. 6). Now, the music for the various conference sessions had been determined many weeks before—and obviously long before my new call to serve. If, however, I had been invited to suggest an intermediate hymn for that particular session of the conference—a hymn that would have been both edifying and spiritually soothing for me and for the congregation before my first address in this Conference Center—I would have selected my favorite hymn, “Redeemer of Israel.” Tears filled my eyes as I stood with you to sing that stirring hymn of the Restoration. Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20). My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them. “
I love that talk from Elder Bednar! Ever since, I have looked every day for tender mercies, whether something small like the sun shining, or getting green lights on the way to work, or picking a delicious peach from a tree, to more meaningful things like a person coming by to say hi, or the Lord helping me through a particularly rough time.
I know that the Savior loves each and every one of you and that he is there ready to bestow Tender Mercies upon all of you if you will just look for them and see them. I wish you all the best of luck during this time of change and know that you will all take it with success and ease!
Love,
Sister Meyer
May 5: Serenity O’Dell
May 20: Allie Jones
May 23: Sister Cuthill
May 27: Avery Young
Sister Sorenson
I have 8 kids: 5 girls and 3 boys. My favorite color is blue. My favorite dessert is cheesecake. My hobbies are working as a nurse, studying American history, watching paranormal shows and college football. My favorite books are Gone with the Wind and Anne of Green Gables. My favorite movies are Goonies, 13 going on 30, Most of the marvel movies, Poltergeist. My current toothbrush is Pink. A funny story from camp is I did a break dance in front of my whole stake. I’m not sure how I got talked into that.
Sister Young
I have six kids. My favorite color is red. My favorite dessert is the fruit tart from Kneaders. I like cutting/coloring my own hair, personal development stuff and planning out projects for our house. There are way too many great books to pick one, the Book of Mormon is the book that has had the biggest impact on me (and I don’t say that because this is for church). I don’t really have a favorite movie but I love a good comedy, I’ll pass on romance and horror movies. My toothbrush right now is green and white.
One year at camp my best friend’s mom was a Stake camp leader. She was a hard core camper and took great pride in it. It was SO COLD at night and we were in tents so the second night my friends mom got these big rocks and put them in the fire to warm them up and then gave one to my friend to put in her sleeping bag to keep her feet warm in the night. I was super jealous… that is until I found out the next day that it burned a huge hole through her sleeping bag.
May 1st: Camp Money and Camp Forms due. Use a tithing slip and select “Other” and write in “Girls Camp” and give it to a member of the Bishopric. If you need forms, you can get them from Sister Sorenson and get them back to Sister Sorenson or Matia Young.
May 4th: Camp songs and first aid
May 11th: Temple Trip, meet at the church at 6:30 sharp. Mask is required through out the temple. Use Google Doc to sign-up (we can only take 11).
May 18th: Class Activities
June 5th: Camp service activity
June 10-12th: Girls Camp