It was my first priesthood meeting of the new year of 2019, and obstacles were being thrown at me to stop me from going.
My dad did not have the money for the car insurance that had just expired that morning. My sister was ill, and at that point it would have been too late to walk to church.
But that wasn’t going to stop me, for I had a record to uphold. I hadn’t missed church once since joining a few months ago or even while investigating the church.
My last lifeline was to get a lift from a family who lived around the corner. But this was unlikely because they usually had a full car. Thankfully, a message from that family arrived around five minutes before church started saying that they had two spare seats as their dad was staying at home to look after a sick child.
I definitely feel and testify that by making it to church against all odds Heavenly Father rejoiced in my dedication. Only having Priesthood meetings once every two weeks means that there is more of a reason to attend and make the most of it.
I think as people, when something is more frequent, we tend to not to appreciate it as much. If we only brushed our teeth once a week, we’d definitely feel the difference. When something is scarcer you make the most of it.
I know if I had taken the path of least resistance and stayed at home that second Sunday of the year, I would have missed being moved so intensely in that Priesthood meeting. I also felt the difference in the strength and the potency of the Holy Spirit by sincerely and wholeheartedly embracing the changes made by our church leaders. Church meetings have the capacity to move us in ways that give us confidence in our testimonies as well as the spiritual promptings to share, contribute and talk with our brothers and sisters rather than being passively spoken to.