Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Change

Yesterday we attended my officially least favorite church meeting ever.  After five years of living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and intentionally selecting homes at each move that were within the ward boundaries of the Chapel Hill 1st Ward, the boundaries were shifted around us and now suddenly our part of town is in the Chapel Hill 2nd Ward.  Did I mention that we've been trying to avoid this for five years?

I wore all black to the meeting because I suspected a disastrous change, and I cried, and swore at Marcos when he said I needed to put on a happy face, and then left the meeting to get some fresh air and walk around the building a few times. The wife of our new Bishop gave a wonderful talk about the difficulty and beauty of living in a breathing growing church, and the heartache that comes with these types of shifts. She said exactly what I was feeling. Especially after serving in the Relief Society presidency these last three years, and stretching way beyond what I was really able to do, or wanted to do, I felt incredibly sad to lose my weekly contact with so many women that I had rubbed shoulders with, and received feedback from, and given feedback to, and been frustrated and angry with, and been so impressed and moved by, and with whom I had grown together.

Sometimes change is so abrupt.  How could I even begin to say thank you, or good bye?

But the mourning lifted, and at night we went to visit our friends who live in the Chapel Hill 2nd Ward and their fine neighbors, and they all gushed about the wonderful energy of our new ward, and the great leadership, and the kindness and activity of its members, and a part of me became excited for this new adventure.  I left their home feeling refreshed and hopeful that this will be a great new experience for our family.

And a day later, I think I still feel that way.

6 comments:

Kim said...

Oh wow. I will say that the 2nd ward was amazing after we had Kaitlyn. I can't even tell you how many people offered to watch Kinsey while we were at the hospital for one reason or another. And we seriously had like 2 months worth of meals brought in with lots of people bringing meals more than once. Gigi will have so many little friends to play with! And if all else fails, you guys can just move to Raleigh :-)

Andrew and Lauren said...

I'm sorry. That is hard. But I know for a fact that any ward you end up in will soon become the awesome ward. You have a gift for influencing things/people in that way.

Unknown said...

yes....I feel your pain, dear friend.

Chrissy Stanley said...

It breaks my heart too... we love you guys. I've been in kind of a blue funk lately for some reason, and this really took it to another level. We'll see you soon!

Tay said...

Sometimes we drive the change in our lives. Sometimes, change happens to us. Either way, how we handle it is really the key - and that is up to us.

melandpeter said...

I have been in exactly your position with boundaries changing and being horrified to be in another ward. It has ALWAYS been for the better though - at least in terms of personal or family growth. Doesn't mean it's not difficult initially and can take awhile to settle in.
Love you. x