Man Up!

We arrived at church yesterday at our usual time: 8:30, one full half hour before church starts. Since we are on the "early" schedule, we are the first ones in the chapel.

We selected our pew and Parker went off to prepare the sacrament. Garrett went off to set up chairs in the overflow. About ten minutes later, the lady with the programs arrived and Tyler brought one up to me. He opened it and pointed, "Is Garrett ready for this?"

Huh? Oh Gee! There was Garrett's name emblazoned on the program as the second youth speaker.

I snatched the program from Tyler and took it to the back and showed Garrett. He asked in a panic, "What do I do?"

Me: "You have no choice. Grab your scriptures and go to your car and start preparing something."

We didn't waste time discussing it because what was the point now, but we both vaguely remember a member of the bishopric calling during Sunday dinner two weeks ago. Oops!

So Garrett's topic was something about the power of faith. He came in a few minutes before church started and sat on the stand.

He did a good job. He spoke about faith. He had a few scripture references. He then talked about Job and the faith that Job showed in the face of adversity. He even threw in a little humor. He ended by bearing his testimony of his own experiences of relying on faith. For a 17 year old speaking extemporaneously, he did really well. Several people came up to me and said they thought he did well. When I told them that it was impromtu, they upgraded their reviews to "amazing."

Garrett was embarrassed that he forgot. He didn't even hint at it in his talk. But as a result, he wouldn't accept any compliments as legit. He didn't want to talk about it.

But yea for Garrett! That's what we do! It was great preparation for being a missionary. They don't get tons of prep time. So it was a good exercise. I'm proud of him for getting in his car and coming up with a talk......instead of getting in his car and driving away!