Irritated or Powerful?

Today we had ward conference.

Ugh.

I'm currently serving as the primary chorister. That's all well and good. But ward conference always throws everything off. We received our actual schedule today. Yes, today. I had a whole fifteen minutes of singing time in which to try to finish teaching them what will likely turn out to be the hardest song of the year. I didn't get very far.

Anyway, the whole stake primary board was there. I was irritated. Why? Not because they were there. I don't care. It doesn't change what I do or how I do it. I'm not there for them. I was irritated because they were 'kind' enough to finally bring us the songs the primary kids are supposed to be singing for Stake Conference on March 1st.

We were given the 'heads up' that we were going to be singing in Stake Conf. two weeks ago with the promise that we would have the songs real soon and that they would be songs from recent Sacrament Meeting programs.

So I get the list today. The day I SHOULD be giving my pianist the songs for next month, I have to toss the whole month into the air and reconfigure the whole thing to accomodate the songs the stake wants the kids to know.

So I look over the list. I ask, "You want the junior primary to sing too?"

"Uh-huh. For the prelude songs."

I look over the list again. "But they don't know these songs."

"None of them?"

"Uh, maybe one of them."

"Oh, that doesn't matter. We just want them to sit up there and look cute and give their parents an incentive to be on time."

Irritation rising.

I look over the list again.

One of the songs they don't know at all.

So in February I'm supposed to:
*teach them the assigned song for the month,
*review the list of songs they DO know for Stake Conference (8 songs),
*teach them the songs from that list they DON'T know,
*try to find a half a second to teach them The Third Article of Faith.

And all that with a pianist who is struggling, a primary president who worries over EVERY LITTLE THING, and the fact that in order to be able to lug all my music stuff around I have to take a SUITCASE to church every week--and it doesn't have room for my scriptures in it!

I need power!!! Lots of it.

But remember, I'm irritated.

So after Primary, I head off to sacrament meeting, we sing, pray, sustain our leaders, take the sacrament, listen to the Bishop speak....

STOP!!

Bishops in our ward have been really good at stunning me with some bit of wisdom that puts me in my place. Here's what ours said today:

"When we cease to see obedience as an irritant, in that moment we become endowed with POWER."

When we cease to see home and visiting teaching, tithe paying, church attendance, doing our callings, etc. etc. etc. as irritants, THAT'S when we gain the power to do anything.

Oh, FREAK!! Now I have to figure out how to stop being irritated!