Divine Helps

 A couple weeks ago, in Relief Society, I was invited to share a divine help that the Lord has blessed me with in my life that helped me through a hard situation.

I shared the experience I had in young women's right after my parents divorced. I had grown up in my Dad's ward so that was "my" ward, but when my parents divorced my Mom got custody, so my church records moved with her. Sometimes it was hard to know where I belonged. I couldn't have a YW calling in my dad's ward cause my records weren't there, but they didn't really know me at my Mom's wards and I was only there every other week anyway so never received callings there either.

Every Friday we would switch between houses so I was at each ward every other week. My Mom wasn't active then and didn't care about attending church, but I wanted to be there. It wasn't my Mom making us go and at my Dad's house my best friend next door was Ashley. She was presbyterian so I wasn't necessarily going to church to be with friends. When I think back to why I went I think it was my leaders and how they helped me feel there.

When my parents were divorcing I didn't really know anybody else that had gone through that. I knew of one school friend that had divorced parents. It wasn't nearly as common. But I still remember one lesson with Sister Arnold. She started talking about her parents divorce. I don't remember exactly what she said, but I remember feeling the spirit so strong that I started crying. I felt like things were going to be alright and that someone knew how I was feeling.

I had amazing leaders that planned fun and meaningful activities and they are what ended up being my divine help. I got to attend YW activities twice a week sometimes and I went to YW camp twice every summer. I got to have double the experiences and double the amazing YW leaders and their testimonies. Connie Lamoreaux, Dena Sprague (also the Mom of Kyle's ex girlfriend :), Cami Arnold, Kim Gillman and in my Dad's ward; Karen Schellenberg, Kate Gagon, Cindy Spencer, Janet Jurgens, Lisa Fausett, Susan Shelton, etc.

I have such a love for the YW program and leaders that love to serve. I wrote more about my experiences in January 2019, but will forever be grateful for the time they spent putting together experiences that changed my life and developed my testimony. I trusted them enough that when they told be I should pray every day I believed them and I did. When they told me we should read our scriptures everyday and the blessings that come from that, I believed them and I did. And when they told me to keep a journal I did that too. So many blessings came from participating in YW and I will forever be grateful to my leaders for facilitating them.