My current calling is to be the Elders Quorum Activity Coordinator for my Ward. As I prepared to stand in front of these brethren last Sunday, to announce an upcoming winter backpack/snowshoe campout I am organizing, I felt a need to explain the reasoning behind all these miserable-sounding EQ activities — like the outing at White Rocks last Spring, backpacking in the Uintas last summer, and Goblin Valley again this coming Fall.
I told this group of men that I wasn’t planning these activities because this is what I like to do, even though it is. I’m putting together these activities because I’ve been asked to — my Bishop asked me to organize such activities with a more physical, outdoor-focus in mind.
Now I know we can go play pickleball or shoot targets at the local gun range, but some of my fondest memories of past outings are those where dads and other adult leaders stood around the campfire talking and laughing late into the night.
That is what I am trying to replicate now in my Ward — by request!
Do Hard Things
Coincidently, I stumbled upon this book by Alex and Bret Harris that recently grabbed my attention: Do Hard Things. It immediately resonated with me because this was the very mindset I tried to encourage during my 10 years of serving as a Scoutmaster.
Yet, as I read through the pages of this inspiring book, I couldn’t help but think:
Well, we used to do hard things — but not any more.
Unfortunately, today’s teenager isn’t expected to take on much. Many schools have scaled back formal homework, especially at the elementary level, with some districts adopting a “no homework” policy in favor of reading time, family activities, or skill practice at home.
But are kids really using that time to read, practice an instrument, or even learn something new beyond that glowing screen? Not from what I see. When was the last time you saw the kid next door mowing their lawn, or shoveling snow? All my neighbors, with multiple teenaged kids mind you, have hired a service for that. We no longer pull weeds, paint fences, clean out the garage, learn about engines, take apart your bike, play street hockey, practice the guitar, start a band or build a fort — things I remembering doing quite often!
We did hard things for a reason, as one mom described in this letter to her son’s Scout leaders, thanking them for helping him summit a big mountain here in northern Utah.
I’d say we’re definitely experiencing a major comfort crisis these days, as described in another excellent book by Michael Easter. Both are well worth reading cover to cover.
