At our recent ward conference, our stake Relief Society president relayed a meaningful little message about ministering. I don’t know if she was quoting anyone or not, but she said something about ministering that felt very true:
“Ministering is the scaffolding that holds us together.”
Instantly I thought that was powerful.
Though temporary in nature, scaffolding is critical in many construction or restoration projects. When work needs to be completed in places that are especially high or hard to reach, it’s scaffolding to the rescue!
First, scaffolding offers support. It provides a steady and fixed place for workers to stand and for materials to sit until they are hoisted elsewhere. It allows some workers to tackle sky scraper issues while others work closer to the ground. Some maintenance and repairs would not be possible to complete without the use of scaffolding. Indeed, it is a necessary support for companies involved in renovation or building.
In like manner, ministering is meant to be supportive, offering sturdy and stable friendships, giving time and talent to the building of something better and on occasion, to the repair of something damaged.
I love the support I receive from the scaffolding of ministering, and I cherish the privilege to provide it to my gospel sisters.
Second, scaffolding is often a critical component to something being built and completed. It is because of scaffolding that higher than ground level tasks are able to be completed. Without scaffolding, there could be no architectural craftsmanship displayed from the skies. Scaffolding, then, is the means by which higher levels can be reached.
Is this not ministering? Does it not serve as a necessary springboard for higher interactions, more holy connections, and spirit to spirit linking? I have been so blessed by ministering – by providing it and by receiving it. The level of my friendship and sisterhood, because of the scaffolding of ministering, has bound me to women who are so different from me but whom I love heart and soul.
I once was given the ministering assignment to care for a 90-year-old sister who was in excellent health. As I ministered to her, our hearts became welded together in no time at all. After receiving my assignment, I meandered over to her house to become acquainted, and I found out that I instantly loved her. We watched political events together in her basement on her who knows how old TV. We cheered and booed for our preferred choices. We gardened, weeded, and picked raspberries together. We went grocery shopping together. Once when driving her car, I went the wrong way down a street, and thanks to her timely yelp, we didn’t crash, but we laughed and laughed and laughed about the incident for many weeks thereafter. We worshipped in the temple together. When her hearing aid fell off before we left temple grounds, we prayed and prayed and walked and looked and walked and looked until we found it. She clapped her hands for joy while I said, “God heard us!” When I moved, I wept for the loss of leaving her. The scaffolding of ministering had bound our hearts literally together, and we were sisters in every sense, despite the mortal years between us. At 99 as she lay on her bed dying, I spoke my final words of love to her on the phone. I will never forget the miracle of love in which we shared because of the inspired revelation to my then Relief Society presidency who paired two very unlikely women together under the scaffolding of ministering – one that raised me to a new level of love and friendship with this beautiful sister in Christ.
It has happened time and time again for me. The scaffolding of ministering builds such a lovely level of love.
I love the building I receive from the scaffolding of ministering, and I cherish the privilege to provide it to my gospel sisters.
Third, the scaffolding of ministering repairs. All sorts of things – stadiums, bridges, tall buildings, other facilities – are able to be painted, cleaned, and repaired because of scaffolding. It is the means to improvement and patch-up.
And so is ministering!
Unlike Humpty Dumpty, I once was literally put back together in the arms of a very loving sister who cradled my heart and head when I had been desperately hurt and was far away from the arms of loved ones. She held me as I cried, and by her love – and the Savior’s she brought – I was restored, revived, repaired. This is the beauty of ministering. Not that she changed my circumstances because she didn’t, but she changed my perspective, my self-doubt, my fear. It all melted into oblivion in the arms of her embrace.
The scaffolding of ministering repairs and restores and even repaints with vibrant, lovely hues that showcase the emerging of a striking rainbow previously clouded from view by pouring rain.
I love the fix-ups I receive from the scaffolding of ministering, and I cherish the privilege to provide them to my gospel sisters.
Lastly, the scaffolding of ministering is usually made from steel or timber. Scaffolding is built from sturdy materials; they are firm and can be trusted to deliver solidity and strength. In the overwhelmingly majority of cases, workers can stand and work with complete confidence in the structure that holds them.
And so it is with ministering. It is a scaffolding that comes from God, the maker of our souls. He knows the potential delivery power it has to help us along the covenant path. He inspired it to bless, edify, and sustain us.
I love the sturdiness I receive from the scaffolding of ministering, and I cherish the privilege to provide it to my gospel sisters.
“Ministering is the scaffolding that holds us together.” No doubt powerful words. And true. For those who might seem hard to reach or are standing high on the level of inactivity, ministering is the forum to reach them.
I, for one, love the scaffolding of ministering and know that it provides real support, helps us build in meaningful and connective ways, needfully repairs, and has the strength to sustain us in these latter days.
Unto all the world: I love the scaffolding of ministering and testify of its power to help perfect!