Thank you, Pat

I was sitting in church today reflecting on life, when I heard this incredible quotation by Pat Holland, wife of apostle Jeffrey R. Holland.  It is not only good for its content, but somehow means more to me knowing this is from a woman who is married to a man that people are always commenting about.  
"Oh, he's so funny."  
"He always says things so powerfully."  
"He has so much energy."  
"I LOVE him!"  
In life, it can be hard not to play an endless game of comparing and always coming up short somewhere.  


"Our Father in Heaven needs us as we are, as we are growing to become. He has intentionally made us different form one another so that even with our imperfections we can fulfill his purposes. My greatest misery comes when I feel I have to fit what others are doing, or what I think others expect of me. I am most happy when I am comfortable being me and trying to do what my Father in heaven and I expect me to be.

“For many years I tried to measure the oft times quiet, reflective, thoughtful Pat Holland against the robust, bubbly, talkative, and energetic Jeff Holland and others with like qualities. I have learned through several fatiguing failures that you can’t have joy in being bubbly if you are not a bubbly person. It is a contradiction of terms. I have given up seeing myself as a flawed person because my energy level is lower than Jeff’s, and I don’t talk as much as he does, nor as fast. Giving this up has freed me to embrace and rejoice in my own manner and personality in the measure of my creation. Ironically, that has allowed me to admire and enjoy Jeff’s ebullience even more.

“Somewhere, somehow the Lord ‘blipped the message unto my screen’ that my personality was created to fit precisely the mission and talents he gave me. For example, the quieter, calmer talent of playing the piano reveals much about the real Pat Holland. I would never have learned to play the piano if I hadn’t enjoyed the long hours of solitude required for its development. This same principle applies to my love of writing, reading, meditation, and especially teaching and talking with children. Miraculously, I have found that I have untold abundant sources of energy to be myself. But the moment I indulge in imitation of my neighbor, I feel fractured and fatigued and find myself forever swimming upstream. When we frustrate God’s plan for us, we deprive this world and God’s kingdom of our unique contributions, and a serious schism settles in our soul. God never gave us any task beyond our ability to accomplish it. We just have to be willing to do it our own way. We will always have enough resources for being who we are and what we can become.”
(Pat Holland, LDS Women’s Treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today’s Woman, p. 104)

As I studied a little more, I found another story by her where she admits to spending 25 years feeling guilty for hating to sew, for not being good at it, and for watching other moms make all their children matching dresses to wear to church.  She finally realized, she didn't have to sew to be a good person.  She and her husband also gave a joint address with some interesting thoughts on discipleship and perfectionism.


And so, here's to enjoying all the quirky talents--like funny voices during read-aloud and crazy stories, and knowing how to make quiet people talk and telling lame jokes and being a scheduling/organizational person, and doing hair and making crafts and being adventuresome.  Who cares that I may never actually be able to do anything requiring hand/eye coordination or run a marathon or sew?  Last time I checked, they weren't on the checklist for heaven....