What Are Your Talents, Skills, and Gifts?

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women session of the April 2001 conference.

"Spirituality is learning how to listen to the Spirit and then letting it govern our lives." So said Sister Carol B. Thomas, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. It brought to my mind President Nelson's Let God Prevail in Your Life talk.

I feel frustrated when I hear sisters in the church say they can't do this or that when talking about spirituality and gospel knowledge as if it is gifted to us fully developed. The fruits of the Spirit, and knowledge of the gospel come to us gradually as we work at developing them just as we would any other talent or skill such as playing an instrument, speaking another language, or being proficient at a sport.

I know this to be true because of what I have experienced in my own life. Most recently, at the first of this year I felt an urgency to get back to more serious prayer and scripture study after slacking off for a time. There was no one to blame except myself and letting other things interfere. It was a struggle to remember prayer in the morning; it was hard to know what to say in the evening. (I often feel like I'm whining and begging, something I abhor.) But I kept at it, even if I just knelt by my bed and tried to form words. It got easier. I kept up the habit of writing in my gratitude journal each night. Some days I could hardly think of anything special to be grateful for (I know, how unobservant of me). But I kept the habit going. I made a greater effort to read the scriptures and follow the Come Follow Me lessons. I found a YouTube channel that resonated with my learning style to learn things new to me and understand deeper meanings and connections in the scriptures. General Conference at the beginning of April was wonderful. I concentrated on spiritual preparation rather than the usual lavish physical preparations. I felt that I was making progress moving off a plateau I'd been on for a long while.

Then the crisis came. Our son took his life and we were devastated. That first night was totally sleepless; but as I tossed and turned for hours I felt wave after wave of gratitude. It was an intensely spiritual experience. The habits paid off and I benefited from the "talent" I'd developed. First I felt so grateful for a Savior and Redeemer. Then I'd feel a wave of thanksgiving for the privilege of being James's mother. It was a horrible, joyful night. I believe those feelings were a gift from God after all the preparation of the preceding months. I had practiced gratitude, and I had studied the life of the Savior in greater detail than I ever had, since my missionary days.

Sister Thomas said, "Now that you have learned how the Spirit works and how you as young women can use it to bless your families, it is our prayer that you will let spirituality become you. Heavenly Father is eager to unleash this great power."

I'm grateful for the unleashing of God's power when I needed it most. My hope is that I can be a light to others in their time of need.

Ten Questions for Ten Things of Thankful

Kristi, over at Thankful Me, invited others to answer these questions in a post. For once these are questions I can answer: 

1.  What small act of service have you received that has meant a lot to you?  
At a time of marital crisis a friend sent me a gorgeous floral arrangement. She knew I couldn't announce the crisis in church so was having to face it alone. When it arrived I bawled over her thoughtfulness and generosity.

2.  What was your favorite meal when you were a child?
My mother's tacos and enchiladas. She had learned how to cook authentic Mexican from the ladies in the Spanish Branch where she attended because of my dad's assignment early in their marriage.

3.  Do you enjoy camping?  
Yes. I enjoy the quiet, the fresh air, the challenge of "playing pioneer" and the stars overhead at night.

4.  Have you moved (changed houses) more as an adult, or as a child?  
I never moved as a child, except to change bedrooms. As an adult I've moved twenty-three times. I've become a gypsy. Actually, I moved some as a young adult, as a missionary, and then I married a Marine and have moved following him around. I'm so used to it that every three or so years I get an itch to move again. I like the challenge of a new place.

5.  Where would you like to retire, and why?  
Somewhere close to children and grandchildren, hopefully somewhere south of where I am now so the winters would be milder. But maybe we'll stay here and just be snowbirds travelling south for the winter. We're about ten years from retirement.

6.  If you had a free day next week, how would you spend it?
If I had a WHOLE day free I'd use it to re-organize my Family History paperwork. I need to, but just can't quite get to it.

 7.  If you could suddenly develop a new talent or skill, what would it be? 
In 2008 I enjoyed four months of violin lessons. I regret that I couldn't continue because I thoroughly enjoyed it and wish I'd had the opportunity when I was young to develop that talent.

8.  Do you know where your grandparents and/or great-grandparents were born?
Grandpa Joe was born in Dundee, Scotland, his wife Grandma Fern was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Grandpa Hansen was born in Kvitver, Norway, Nana Hansen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Joe's parents were born in Scotland, Fern's parents were born in England and Salt Lake City; Grandpa Hansen's parent were born in Norway, Nana's parents were born in Denmark.

9.  What is one trait that describes you?
Knowledgeable. My children think I'm an encyclopedia; the people at church believe I know everything (they've never met anyone like me); and a dear friend informed me that one of my spiritual gifts is the gift of knowledge, I never knew that, I thought everyone who studied or read knew what I know. I'm not bragging, sometimes it feels like a curse.


10.  What is one of your family traditions?
Using brown paper bags for "wrapping" presents. That got started when our first two children were two and one. We went to a friends home for Christmas Eve dinner and I expected to be home in time to wrap presents. Wrong! We enjoyed ourselves so much that we didn't get home until almost midnight. I stuffed the presents in brown grocery sacks, stapled them shut and wrote names on the bags. Noble and Lt. Lehi enjoyed the bags so much that I never worried about wrapping things again. They played with their presents, putting them in and out of the bags all day. I use wrapping paper for gifts for other's because they don't follow our tradition, but I don't use much wrapping paper for our family gifts. A couple years ago I began making reusable gift bags for our Christmas presents and that has been a fun new tradition, based on the older one.