Visiting teaching is a wonderful thing. It is a chance for us, as sisters in the gospel, to connect with each other. It is a chance for us to form friendships that last, and to learn from each other. It is a chance to sit down each month and listen to a gospel message. It is a chance for each of us to feel loved.
I think too often we get too caught up in the “have to” of visiting teaching. It can seem difficult to figure out how to juggle three women’s schedules so that they are all available to meet at the same time. This becomes more difficult when you consider the fact that most of these women will have at least two or three children who have to be taken into account when you think about schedules. It is often too easy to let this month slide right on by without taking the time for a real visit.
Visiting teachers really can make the difference between a good day and a bad day. I knew a girl that had moved away from home, and had made some poor choices. She often wouldn’t even open the door when her visiting teacher came to visit. But the visiting teacher kept on coming to visit. When my friend was ready to come back to church, it was her visiting teacher she called first. She knew that her visiting teacher cared about her, and would help her get back on the right path.
My first visiting teacher was when I had just turned eighteen years old. My family, with about ten others, had just been annexed into a new ward. Since I was eighteen, I decided just to move straight into Relief Society. Sister Anderson only visited me for four months before I went away to school, but I always looked for her when I went back to visit. I felt her love and acceptance of me at a time when I really needed it.
Friendships can be formed when you are visiting teaching companions with someone. These friendships can last even when you move away from the ward. Visiting teaching gives us a chance to serve each other and a chance to learn the best ways that we can help each other. It is just as important to allow your visiting teachers to visit you, as it is to get your own visiting teaching done. In what ways has visiting teaching benefited your life?