Harvest of Influence

Ten years ago, I was called to be the primary president in our ward.  I pondered and prayed over counselors and one day, while turning the corner at the bottom of the hill, I drove past Shirley’s house and received the impression that she should be one of my counselors.  I paused at the impression.  I love Shirley and had watched her serve faithfully for many decades but Shirley had just celebrated her eightieth birthday.  What would she say? I wondered.  When she received the calling, she reminded the bishop of her age, indicated she hadn’t served in Primary since it had been called Jr. Sunday School and then recounted that she had been surprised earlier by a prompting that a calling was coming and she should accept.  
 

While Shirley worried that some of the issues she faced would affect her service, the children and adults in Primary listened intently to the stories of her life and the testimony those experiences had shaped.  We felt the love she had for the Lord and all of us and we were blessed to simply be in her presence.  She accepted the opportunity to serve in faith that the Lord would make her efforts enough and while being blessed by her wisdom, her steadiness, and love, I came to understand that through her lifetime of faith, it wasn’t as much what she did, it was who she had become.

This week Shirley’s backyard was filled with friends and family who spanned her nine decades celebrating her birthday, a small glimpse of the fruits of her life. A life filled with ongoing moments of faith, forgiveness, repentance, laughter, kindness, prayer, work, hope, and love that have created a harvest of influence that will last eternally.