Prayer

I taught my first Relief Society lesson yesterday and was feeling highly inadequate and extremely nervous. I had plenty of time to prepare for the lesson so there were countless prayers said which involved a lot of pleading on my part for Heavenly Father to bless me with the ability to teach the sisters the message he had in store. Knowing myself, and how I'm not very good with off-the-cuff discussions... I had prepared the lesson on lined paper, spelling out exactly what I was going to say. I was completely shocked when the spirit prompted me throughout the lesson... so much so that I hardly had to reference my "script". I even pulled out personal experiences that hadn't occurred to me while preparing the lesson! Also, a good hint for anyone else who might have to experience this... start out by distributing chocolate... it's a good distraction! I'm so grateful for the power of prayer and the blessing of His spirit to guide and direct me. While planning the lesson, one of my favorite quotes from President Monson kept popping into my mind... just thought I'd share... "Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle."