It Felt Rushed

          It is the first Sunday of the year and the year of change as we have dropped an hour.  There will now be two Sunday schools per month, two RS (YM/YW, Priesthood) per month.  Apparently all the organizations except for the primary will meet together on the 5th Sunday.  Primary is still its own separate thing.  Whereas, two hours of primary seemed way too long at times, this one hour deal is like blinking your eyes.  At least that is how it felt today.

         

          On the first Sunday last year there were 15 children the valiant class alone.  I don't know how many were in the others.  This year we have only two classes: CTRs and Valiants.  There are no Sunbeams this year, and only three Valiants.  Two instructors are definitely needed in CTRs this year - what a wide assortment of ages.  Perhaps only 20 minutes of lesson time has improved that?  I don't know.  I was with the three.  And there's one who does not attend every week, so mostly it will be just two and two.  That seems weird.  But whatever.

          We have a new chorister recently called to primary - though she had served in the presidency before.  She always has illustrations to go with each song and made a game for one today.  We learned the song and had time for only two more songs to sing after that.  I think she was over prepared - though it was fun.  It seemed that more time was needed.

          We then went to class.  Two of our children took turn being leaders and we each followed them down the hall around the primary doors and back to the classroom - which this year is one that we have never met in before.  Initially when we had gone to our room, we learned that we had been locked out and so that in itself took away time from a 20 minute lesson.

          Danny had prepared a match game after the children had guessed all the letters to "Ways to Follow Christ" - match games can go quickly or drag on.  This may have dragged at a normal level, but as we were running out of time, Danny started matching pairs with numbers the children had not picked - though I believe they still had fun.

          It's funny how different people can look at the same set of guidance and still be on two different paths.  For instance, I did not get the primary outline but had searched for it on the web but felt frustration in not finding a primary outline that seemed to work with our individual outline - which I believed was that entire point of this new program.  Danny said it confused her, too.   She said that is why she taught the lesson from the individual guide rather than the primary outline.  She did?  Wow.  Her understanding of the lesson had been so much different from my own.  The message I got from my individual and family study was on forgiveness and prayer.

          It's great that we are encouraged to share with one another our own perspectives as we do all have different ideas and are able to grow at we feed one another and stay in tune with what the Spirit needs each of us to learn - Roland said his instruction was on "Giving All that We Have"  Wow.  And all of these are valid and teach us values that we need to understand.  I'm grateful for member and family support.