Because I really am Mrs. Boss

I loved the movie Australia (2008 film starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman) and for the longest time we had this family joke. I would tell my kids to call me, "Mrs. Boss" and to call their Dad, "The Drover". They would tease me back and tell me no and make fun of me. I didn't care I loved those characters and could relate to them.
In 2012 our family moved and I was asked to speak in Church before we left. Shortly after moving into our home I was asked to speak again. I did something I have never done before. I used the same talk. But here is the thing...it is the best talk I have ever written and it worked for both topics. Also it proved to be a great test for my children to see if they are listening. All three of my oldest harasssed me about how strangely familiar my second speech was. They passed! They really are listening in church!
I wanted my first post to include this talk, speech, sermon, whatever you want to call it, because it sums up why I created this blog. I have lots of stories and the combination of them makes up my unique life. Sharing my stories is a big part of who I am and so here I am blogging.

Talk given April 29^th 2012

River View Ward

            Life is an adventure this young man is leaving to go on what will be one of the greatest adventures of his life. For our family moving into this ward is part of our adventure story. So I thought it would be fun to share part of one of my all time favorite adventure stories!

            One of my favorite lines from this story is,“People like to own things land, luggage, other people… in the end all you really own is your story. I’m just trying to live a good one.”  This story takes place in Australia it’s about a little aborigine boy named Nalla . Due to some desperate circumstances he is allowed to go on a cattle drive. He is excited and eager to show that he can do a, “man’s job”. The head master of this drive is a man they call, “The Drover” because that’s what he does, “droves” the cattle. The Drover is a man of integrity and is referred to as a “trust worthy” man. Before he leads this team of misfits out on this Drove he tells them that there is nothing more intimidating to cattle than a man on his feet staring the cattle strait in the eyes. He makes it perfectly clear that he is in charge and that they are all to keep the, “Drovers Law!” Then as they go out to round up the cattle he teaches the owner of the cattle Sara Ashley who Nalla lovingly calls, “Mrs. Boss” the most important part of Droving Cattle, “Hold the line!” He tells her that you have to keep them together if one gets past others will follow. Your job is to lead them by, “Holding the line.”

            Holding the line is like keeping commandments. The best parents and leaders set the example, share what they know and set high standards this is how they keep everyone together this is how they hold the line. The Drover set a trusted example, he shared what he knew and he let everyone know that he was counting on them to obey.

            One evening during there journey Nalla was responsible for night watch. The cattle were spooked and began to stampede. Nalla knew the cattle were headed strait for a cliff. He hopped on his horse and attempted to round them up. This required him to ride up beside the stampeding cattle. In order to re direct the group he had to get in front of the heard. As he did this he fell off of his horse and found himself on the edge of the cliff. He used the knowledge Drover shared, “there is nothing more intimidating to cattle than a man on his feet staring them strait in the eyes, and he stood and stared at the on coming cattle. He also remembered the teachings of his Grand father King George and began to call upon the spirit. By then everyone in camp was awake and riding out to help. Nalla stood bravely between the cattle and the cliff. What was moments I’m sure felt like hours to Nalla. The cattle became calm and stopped just a few feet away from him. Sara and The Drover ran to him and as his exhausted body fell into Sara Ashley’s arms she whispered to him, “You are safe with me. You are safe with me.”

Brothers and Sisters we each have to find the faith and courage to stand boldly and face the stampedes in our lives!”

Pres. Uchtdorf said, “You need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every hero/in has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength. It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.”

I love the saying, “We only fail when we fail to try!”

Nalla knew he was not equal to the task at hand. He easily could have decided not to risk it, that it was not worth it, and that it was just too hard for a boy his size.

 

 How often are we tempted with these very thoughts? Do we rise to the occasion when we are faced with challenges in our lives?

In a first presidency message entitled, “Living the Abundant Life”. Pres. Monson says, “Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.”

Nalla was blessed because he was obedient. He trusted, believed and had faith in The Drover and his Grandfather’s teachings.

Here’s the thing even in that moment facing that stampeding cattle more help was required. You see Nalla was Brave and he was doing all he could do. The pressure was on and he was taking tiny baby steps back toward the edge of the cliff. He didn’t realize that he was doing this. It was only because Sara was there that he fell into her arms rather than off the cliff.

We need out stretched arms and reassuring whispers. We need to keep the people that are safe close. She whispered, “You are safe with me”. These kinds of people are found in families, immediate family, extended family, wards family, and our world wide family. So remember this young man here will be in the safe arms of our world wide family but he still needs his ward and immediate family he will need our letters of inspiration and encouragement.

Family is essential to our success in life. Not just because we need them but also because they need us.

Satan uses the counterfeit for divine nature. He uses entitlement to awaken in us feelings that destroy our families. He tricks us into thinking that our families owe us! Our divine nature as sons and daughters of God is one of Savior hood! It is our job to stand with or go after members of our families to be there when they face the stampedes in their lives to be the safe and reliable place to fall. In that way we are all missionaries all the time.

Family is like Christmas it’s not about what you get it’s about what you give. Being part God’s world wide family means sacrificing our sons parting with them for two years because we love our whole family and some of us are missing. The sacrifice is therefore more of a blessing isn’t it.

Is it any wonder then that temple work is such a huge part of how we worship. By attending the temple we are doing some of the most selfless work on earth. We open the door of opportunity for those who no longer have physical bodies to accept the ordinances of the gospel that will join them into Gods eternal family.

In Nalla’s story Sara Ashley was willing to put herself in a position of great mortal sacrifice and sliding in right behind her was the Drover. The three of them huddled gratefully together on the edged of that cliff holding on to one another.

It came as no surprise that later in the story these three became a family. They had held on to one another in the most difficult of circumstances and each was required to make personal sacrifices of self interest.

At some point each of these characters suffered the loss of a family member for Sara her husband, for the Drover his brother and for Nalla his Mother. Each would have been justified to despair, grief and even depression. For each of them in that very moment of lose some kind of time sensitive action was required to meet the needs of another even someone who they did not personally know.

Selfless service and sacrifice bring on the greatest blessings known to man. For these three it was each other, a new family.

Two times in Nalla’s story someone says, “Just because it is doesn’t mean it should be!” There is an important message in that line. We can do something to make a difference. Our efforts may not always produce the result that we desire but that does not mean the effort made is of less value.

I wonder sometimes when I hear a great story like Nalla’s or read about courageous men of virtue like Nephi and Capt. Moroni. I wonder about my sacrifices and my little efforts. Satan tries to get me to doubt my individual worth, and I find myself asking, how important am I to the story of this world family?

A prophet seer and revelator a special whiteness of Christ Pres. Uchtdorf addressing our world wide family said this, “Be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.”

He went on to say some wonderful things about sacrifice.

“An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth. How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective. Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms.”

I felt so much love as I listened to Pres. Uchtdorf. He is truly a mouth piece of the lord. His words were just the thing the sisters of our church needed to hear.

When we make sacrifices we build relationships of trust. Bishops, the fathers of our ward families make sacrifices for us. I think about the energy of their prayers and the loving concern that they have for there ward families. Todd and I have both worked closely with Bishops. This close association allows for a more intimate view they see our imperfections and we see theirs. Perfection is not a requirement for good leadership. A concentrated effort has been and is being made. Bishop’s love us I have felt that love, Todd has felt that love, our children have felt that love. God works through Bishops to bless his children and bring them home. I sustain our Bishop and am so grateful for the fatherly service and sacrifice he renders I trust him.

At one point in Nalla’s story, The Drover adamantly says, “no man hires me no man fires me.” He wanted to make it perfectly clear that no one tells him what to do, his choice and accountability belong to him and him alone.

Much of the good works we do in our world, ward, immediate and extended families is requested it is service and sacrifice that we are asked and are expected to give.

Will you accept this call to serve a mission?

Would you accept this ward calling?

Would your ward do a service project to celebrate 75 yrs of the welfare program?

Would you pick Dad up or babysit or clean up…

I think you get the idea.

Truly this is some of the best service we give.

But to be celestial service we have to choose, we have to choose to whole heartedly give the service and then give when no one is asking, or watching or knowing.

Our family, God’s eternal family is counting on us. He not only trusted us enough to give us bodies he trusted us enough to give us the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are taught that peace and joy come from Compliance with the will of our Father in Heaven. He desperately wants us to choose the right. As we repeatedly choose to live the Gospel we choose him. Over time and repeated challenges won we obtain a more perfect knowledge as we repeatedly choose him, choose Christ and choose to allow him to save us, we ultimately give up all our sins to know, to know him. In those moments of perfect, clean and full repentance we feel peace, joy and we know!

Just as our physical bodies grow strongest and best when placed under the strain of doing more, our spirits also must be challenged to increase in strength. I have a friend who returned to full activity 4 years ago. She once shared how hard it was to sacrifice her current life style. It was a huge change and in the struggle to make that change she felt inadequate. She spoke to her brother about these feelings and the struggle. His words were simple and profound. He reassured her by saying, “The sins get smaller and life gets sweeter!”

I quote, “As one complies with the will of our Father in Heaven, there will come spiritual, intellectual, and emotional growth and reassurance through the Holy Spirit of truth. That reassurance and joy can grow into a perfect knowledge.” Elder Ronald Halverson Nov 04

In D&C 121:34-36

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

 35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

 36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

Are we striving to live worthily of our blessings?

The greatest blessing any of us will ever know will come from living worthy of our temple sealing.

God wants his children back.

We are not forgotten our stories are not small and in significant. We came to this earth trailing clouds of Glory.

If we give our lives over to God he will make more of us and them than we could ever imagine. That is my life goal that is what my story is all about. You see… In the end we can have so much more than a good story. I love this gospel and feel blessed to be a part of such a special day.

mormon note: When I gave this talk the first time I had been serving as the Young Women President and I told my girlies that I would give them a treat for each time I mentioned a Young Women Value. I got all of them into my talk and was pretty proud of that. Gotta have some cheese mormon fun!