Obedience

The lesson today in Young Women's was on obedience.  I was so tired from hardly sleeping the last two nights and other obligations that I wasn't able to spend a lot of time preparing for my lesson.  I felt so bad.  In fact, I feel like I really suck as a teacher these days.  I used to do really, really well teaching.  Maybe these girls intimidate me.  I don't know.  I feel really bad, too, because the Stake YW President wanted to come in and sit in on the lesson and it freaked me out so bad that I asked her to come next Sunday instead. 

The lesson turned out okay, I guess, but I wish I could just teach from the heart and the spirit rather than having to look at my lesson plan and such.  I think I need to pray harder for help. 

This coming week, the lesson is on repentance.  Oh my.  Heavy.  For 12-15 year olds, I'm sure you can teach the basics about repentance and how gossiping and this and that should be repented of, but when you're dealing with 16 and 17 year olds, it's different.  They are at that age where things change.  They date.  They sometimes fall into situations they shouldn't.  They are heading out into the world where the process of repentance is harder. 

I was looking forward in the manual last week and when I saw this lesson coming up, I looked back and saw the progression leading up to it...eternal perspective, overcoming opposition, agency, obedience, repentance.  And then, looking forward after repentance...forgiving ourselves, consecration and sacrifice, a change of heart, scripture study, service.  All topics that are super important - especially to these Laurels.

I wish I could take credit for the handout I made, but I can't.  I just made it cuter.  This is what it turned out to be.  I really liked it.  I think the girls did too.  It was pretty big - about 11 inches long and 7 inches wide.  Now that I look at it, it's not all that cute really, but it was in real life, I guess.  I see things now I would have done differently.  Oh well...isn't that how life truly works?