There Is a Bigger Picture

I had a great weekend. Our LDS stake put on a "24 hour roadshow" - each ward had exactly 24 hours to produce a script, design costumes and sets, have rehearsals and then present a 7 minute show to the entire stake. The adults worked in the background while the youth (ages 11 and older) learned their parts and choreography.

Being the theatre nut that I am, I was one of the first to volunteer. Mark and I both jumped on the bandwagon and were anxious to get involved and make it a fun experience for *everybody* involved. Our 14 year old son, Chas, also was excited about having a part and putting on the skit.

Our little committee gathered together on Friday night and we quickly decided on a "Napoleon Dynamite" spoof. With the help of two fantastic women, Chas and I wrote the script. The next morning we all met at the church and the hard work began. We have the best youth in our stake! They did a great job, jumped in with full enthusiasm, and by the time we had presented our roadshow on Saturday night, they were all theatre pros! The best part was that our ward won two awards.

Even though it was fun to get to know these kids and to watch them enjoy themselves so much, there is always a bigger picture. It was great to see them *work together* to create a final product. Even though we threw this script at them and some of them felt totally out of their comfort zone, it was *wonderful* when one of them had an idea to make something work better. They worked together to solve problems and make for a great final product. We didn't have any fighting or jealousy, and nobody tried to upstage anybody else. They just took on their responsibilities and WENT for it.

I decided that this is how life should be. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget the bigger picture. We're all in this together, and no matter how "out of our zone" we feel, it is important to work together to solve problems. For example, in my little family it is great when we all get together and work on a project - the end result is so much more meaningful, because we all play an important part in the process.

There is a bigger picture. We're all in this together. Fighting and standing on our own side doesn't get us anywhere. We should try to think outside of the box and try new things. We should work hard to make sure we're pulling our weight. When we all work together, great things happen.