Lift Where You Stand

This week I had a great experience with a young woman named Allison. Allison wanted so desperately to serve a mission but because of medical reasons she is unable to go out and proselyte. She thought all hope was lost and that she would never be able to serve until someone told her about serving a service mission. She decided that serving a Family History and indexing mission would fit her needs more than a proselyting mission, but she was sad that she wouldn't be able to be what she considered a "real missionary." Her Home teachers, who were also there and one of them shared a story that really struck me, I found it on Lds.org from President Uchtdorf.

"Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. None were professional movers, and the task of getting that gravity-friendly instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall seemed nearly impossible. Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. They repositioned the brethren by strength, height, and age over and over again—nothing worked.

"As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Brother Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, “Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.”

"It seemed too simple. Nevertheless, each lifted where he stood, and the piano rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. That was the answer to the challenge. They merely needed to stand close together and lift where they stood."

I thought that this was profound insight, Allison's place to lift is different than mine, but that doesn't make it any less important.

This past week my place to stand changed, and it's been different than what I am used to. Bremerton is super different than Shelton, mostly in the fact that there are actually people to talk to here, and I don't have to drive half an hour between appointments, and there are always things going on. So it's a big adjustment, so much has changed in the past week and I can hardly believe I only traveled 40 miles and life is so different.

The Manette ward has had a lot of switched in their missionaries lately, they had Elders until last August, then Sisters for thee months, Elders again for four months, and now Sister Pluim and I! So they are having a hard time with the switch again, but it will be good!

We all have to learn to lift where we are standing in that moment, and when that position changed we have to adjust our hold. So that is what I am doing, adjusting my hold.

One of the greatest examples of lifting where you stand is my sweet mother, I thought I would give her a shout out because Mothers' Day is next week and she deserves it! My Mom is incredible at switching on a moment's notice. Just a few weeks ago my Daddy was put in as Stake President, and that has implications for not only him but my whole family, especially my mom. And yet she takes it in stride and adjusts accordingly. Moms are pretty great, and they deserve all the praise you can give them! So give your mom a big hug and tell her just how much you love and adore her, because she deserves all of it!

I love you, Mom!

Have a great week everyone!

Love, Sister Megan Monson

Saying goodbye in Shelton