Answered Prayer

Today was testimony meeting at church, and I got up to share a little of my testimony - specifically to share a simple prayer that was answered last night. Here is the story.

Last night was the annual General Young Women Meeting broadcasted from Salt Lake City for all of the young women of our church and their mothers. The messages that the speakers share are always fantastic, and we really like to see as many as possible of the young women in our area attend. So we (the Stake Young Women presidency) organized a social/dinner before the meeting, and did this in Crestview and Fort Walton Beach. There are only three of us in the presidency, and one is out of town, which left Connie hosting this dinner alone (with the help of her daughters) in Fort Walton and me alone in Crestview (with the help of anyone who happened to show up early).

I left the house a little later than I had hoped and was feeling a little frustrated. I was not sure if I would have enough time to get everything set up. I was also worried that the lasagnas would not have time to get cooked through. I had already started cooking them at home, but they needed a little more time at the church to finish. When I get frustrated, busy, or pulled in too many directions, I have a hard time focusing my thoughts and I have a hard time enjoying the moment. I wanted to be able to get everything done, and I wanted to do that as well as be able to carry on a decent conversation with the people who came.

So, in the car on my way to the church I prayed. I prayed that the lasagnas would be hot and ready in time; I prayed that I would be able to set up the tables and the rest of the food; I prayed that I would feel comfortable greeting everyone and conducting the social without my counselors by my side; and, most importantly, I prayed for peace through it all.

When the meeting was over and everything was cleaned up I was saying good-bye to one of the women. As we were talking, I realized that my prayer had been answered. All of the details got taken care of: the lasagnas were hot, the tables got set up and looked pretty with the colorful table runners, the food was set up and nobody missed the butter that I left at home, and everything was cleaned up in less than 10 minutes thanks to most everyone who attended. But the greatest blessing for me personally was that I was blessed with peace and a sense of calm all night. At no point did I feel like a chicken with its head cut off (which is a very typical feeling for me). And, I was able to find a seat in the chapel a few minutes before the broadcast began and enjoy the speakers.

My simple prayer was one that did not really affect anyone else. But I wanted the peace to enjoy the evening - and my prayer was answered.