Willingness to Serve?

Today during Sacrament Meeting a boy (well man, he is 19) who is about to go on his mission spoke about service. He referrenced a 20/20 with John Stossell that investigated how service makes people feel. I hadn't seen this episode and there are so many episodes of 20/20 that any google searches I performed did not return anything I thought would be the right episode. Anyhow, according to this boy (man), 20/20 found that service makes us feel good and that is why we should do it. Well yeah.

So, as I left Sacrament Meeting and went about performing the duties of my own calling I found myself standing in the door way to the nursery. In this room were about 15 children, 18 months to 3 years old. Attending to these children were three VERY pregnant ladies - all in their third trimester. I know that currently they're having a hard time finding nursery leaders because of the health problems of their current leader (my mother and her knees) but I just felt so bad, able bodied (for the most part) standing there watching these women bend and pull and lift these children! All while inwardly praying, "don't call me to nursery!"

When I arrived home Jayden, who had been with Kevin because he had a migraine and stayed home from church, came crawling to me and crawled into my lap. I looked at her and said, "Jayden" and she repeated it back to me, "Jayden"...I thought it was a fluke so I tried it again, "Jayden" and she repeated herself "Jayden." She did this several times until she started laughing at me and asking to nurse when I would ask her to say her name she'd just shake her head and sign "milk" and try to assume nursing position. Now Jayden's always been very vocal and has been saying "mama" "dada" "bye bye" and "hi" for a while now on command, but adding her OWN name completely correctly, that is amazing! So the moment this whole story has been waiting for arrives, we are blessing dinner, Justin is saying the prayer, asking for Santa to come to our house (only a few more months!) and when he finishes, "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Jayden says "amen." clear as a bell! I am NOT kidding. "Amen."

So.....the thought occured to me... When we had decided she would stay home today it was justified to the boys that she was staying home because she didn't have a class to be in anyway and that she won't miss anything, well apparently that is now so. She does understand so much more than we give her credit for and she already is trying to communicate with her Heavenly Father by agreeing to prayers. And I should have taken her to church so she could partake in the Spirit of the meetings and I should not be so quick to hope that I don't get a nursery calling or plan what ward I'll move to if ever asked...I should remember these children are closer in Spirit to Heavenly Father and more in tune than we give them credit for and that spending two hours of Sunday with little miracles really should be an uplifting experience.

I need to reevaluate where I stand, either I am willing to serve, no matter where, or I'm not. No, I haven't been called to nursery and I'm working on my knee-jerk reaction to "oh heck no, we're moving!" if I were to be called and trying to focus on what amazing little spirits are in nursery! And how I should receive the same feelings of pleasure from serving my littlest brothers and sisters in the gospel as the subjects of John Stossel's 20/20 investigation.