There's one thing about Primary...

...you never know what to expect. Adult meetings are fairly predictable. With children involved, not so much.

For this week in particular, I had expected the worst. With all three of the other presidency out of town, I had visions of Murphy's Law coming into play in a big way -- if anything can go wrong, it will. Fortunately, Annette, our Primary President,had arranged for someone to come help out. The someone was Valerie, who had been in the Primary Presidency before us and knows many of the children as well as our routine and program. Besides, one is never alone in Primary -- it is a team effort with teachers and music people besides the presidency.

Maybe you can imagine my prayers this week, and even before. I started early -- as soon as I knew the others would be out of town on the same Sunday. It didn't take long for that peace to come. I kept praying, just in case. I know Heavenly Father would not let me down, but I have less faith in myself.

So today came, and I had not a single twinge of worry. Two hours could not have gone more smoothly. (I'm sure Annette and Elizabeth must have also joined their prayers with mine.) Phoebe(6)sweetly said the opening prayer. Her brother, Owen(9), read a scripture, then led us all in the monthly theme scripture, "The family is ordained of God" (Proclamation, paragraph 7). Their little brother Hugh (3 1/2) was excited to be giving his very first talk in Primary. Hugh stepped up on the stepstool behind the podium, mom adjusted the microphone to his level, and then prompted him line for line as he recited his talk on love and families, accompanied by a picture of the Savior which he held up at the appropriate time. He spoke slowly, but with confidence, clearly and understandably. No giggling, squirming, or apparent shyness or apprehension in taking this big step. Be still, my heart! Moments like this fill me with incomprehensible love and gratitude. These sweet children are not just learning the gospel, but also teaching it to others. Myself included.

Brother C and Brother G's class, half of our Valiant Boys, gave a well prepared and informative Sharing Time on the how the Priesthood blesses our families. Having such role models for our 10 and 11 year old boys gives me the calm assurance that another generation of righteous young men will step up to the challenges that will face them very soon.

Valerie made sure the attendance rolls were filled out and everyone accounted for. Several families were gone this weekend because of the holiday on Monday. The children who were there were good listeners, and they could have caught butterflies. Absent teachers had arranged for substitutes and we didn't have to scramble at the last minute to plug any holes. We were grateful to have Donna C. as our pianist today; she loves being in Primary.

All my concerns were for naught, as they always are. With Primary, you never know what might happen, but today, all was perfect. We missed Annette, Elizabeth and Amy and will be very glad to see them when they get back.