Why I Will Always Say Yes

When we lived in Billings, MT, we had a house we were trying to sell in Gillette, WY.

Shortly after we moved, there was a big storm that caused a lot of damage to trees.  We had, I think, eight trees on our property which meant our yard was covered in broken branches and leaves.  Literally covered.  No one was living there so we had to drive the three hours to go clean up the yard to keep it in selling condition.

Enter:  The Tyners.  Some of the best people you'll ever meet.  They opted to drive down with us to help us with the clean-up.  I was amazed at their willingness to serve us, people they only barely knew.

During our time in Billings, we were blessed by the Tyners many times as well as many others in the ward.  It was the greatest ward I've ever lived in.  We were family.  People loved one another and were always ready and willing to step up and help.

I've been thinking about this post for a while.  It might be seen as offensive.  Or, maybe a wake-up call.  I don't know.  But I've never been one to keep my opinion to myself.

I'm now in a position of somewhat leadership in my current ward and, though it's been a short time, I've been made aware of a very sad fact:

People say no.

I was living under the naive impression that people were generally willing to do their part; people were ready to step outside of their comfort zones and cowboy-up.  I thought people were generally willing to be there for each other.  I thought people might hesitate at the thought of something they've never done or something that might seem hard but for the most part, would allow themselves to be stretched by the task that was asked of them and go forth as the Lord would have us do.

But... they're not.

I'm saddened by this.

The Lord says serve, so we serve.  At least, that's how it's supposed to be.

But it's not.  It's like pulling dang teeth.

It's frustrating.  It's disheartening.

So what if something's hard or might be inconvenient? So what if it's something you've never done before? So what if you're busy? So dang what if it's scary?

I mean, my goodness.  Get with it, people.  Stop saying no.  Start doing what the Lord wants you to do and even sometimes calls you to do.  Those in authority in the church might not know your situation but the Lord does.  And I can tell you, a lot of prayer goes into the issuing of callings.  I know this.  The Lord is very much a part of who is asked to help.  He knows it's going to be uncomfortable or hard or inconvenient.  But that's why we're here, isn't it? To grow? No one ever got stronger by lifting feathers.  My dad said, "If you're comfortable, you're not growing."

It makes it so hard for those who are trying to run things smoothly when they have to pick up the slack of those not willing to help out.  It doesn't have to be a calling, it could be as simple as saying the prayer when asked.

I know there are instances when a "no" is necessary.  I know there are times when one physically cannot help.  I get that. 

But can if you can, you should.  If you can but it's scary, you should.  If you can but it seems hard, you should.  If you can but it's outside of your comfort zone or new to you, you should.  If you can but it would be inconvenient, you should.

This isn't just coming from me.  This is what the Lord said.  That's what He did.  That's why we're here.  The church recently embarked on a new Ministering program.  How can we truly minister to one another if we're not willing to say yes? The church can't run without its members.

We all need to do our dang part.  We all need to step it up and help when it's needed.

We need to stop saying no.

There.  I said my piece.