Nurturing

I just got back from visiting teaching. The lesson was entitled "Guardians of the Hearth" and it discussed nurturing. One of the quotes was from President Hinckley where he said,
 “You are the bearers of the children. You are they who nurture them and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God.”

Quotes like this have sometimes troubled me for a variety of reasons. The first reason is the huge amount of responsibility I feel when I read about nurturing. You see, I may have a slight phobia of babies. I like them, but I've never been one to go out of my way to pick them up or play with them. While some of my friends became aunts or uncles when they were about 8 years old, I was 8 years old the last time I really spent much time with a little baby (my youngest brother). I didn't do too much babysitting, and even when I babysat younger cousins or nieces or nephews I never felt like I was the primary one taking care of the babies.

So, to hear that I have the divine role of nurturing feels like a great burden. Especially with a little baby boy coming in about 3 months.

And goodness knows that I'm not the only woman who feels this way. I think there are a lot of women in the Church who get almost annoyed when they hear that they're "supposed" to be good at nurturing. "But what about the rest of  my skill set?" they wonder. "Why do 75-year-old men feel like they can pigeonhole me into a corner with what my personality and skills are supposed to be?"

To some extent, I've sort of felt that way. But I said something while I was visiting teaching that surprised me. I said, "What President Hinckley's saying is that nurturing is part of our divine role, even if it's not part of our personality."

Thing is, there are lots and lots of things we are asked to do that we just plain aren't good at. Many men don't feel like they're cut out to be Young Men's President because they don't feel fun enough. Many women don't feel charitable enough to be Relief Society President. And then there are the less temporary callings, like being a parent, which no one is actually qualified for.

But the point is, if God calls us to do something, then He will give us the capability to accomplish it. Furthermore, sometimes He tells us we are good at something or that we're supposed to do something, not because we're actually good at it, but because we can become good at it.

So even though I'm scared about taking on a new responsibility of nurturing my own children, I can have the confidence that I'll be prepared for it because it is my divine role.