Sister Ruggles

This past week we had a primary inservice meeting (I think it might have been an excuse for a bunch of silly teachers to get together and play games making fools of ourselves!). One of the things we did was share our favorite primary memory from either when we were in primary ourselves or as a teacher. I just thought I'd put mine on my blog so that I can remember always what an impact a primary teacher can make on someones life. The year I was 7 turning 8 was my favorite year in primary. I was in a class of all boys and Sister Ruggles (or Ruggle, or something like that) was our teacher. To this day I can still remember how I felt when I was around her. I always felt happy, loved and special. She just seemed to always know what to say to me and how to teach me so that I would always remember. Now, as an adult, I wonder if I was just this clingy little skinny girl that wouldn't leave her alone....but she never once gave me reason to ever doubt that I was special to her. I remember going to parties at her house and really fun Sunday lessons where we would act things out. I remember that she had a testimony of the gospel. I remember thinking as a small child that she had struggles in her life and worrying about her even though she never let on to any problems. My most fond memory is a lesson she taught me during her talk about the Holy Ghost at my baptism. She had an orange and talked about how the peel was protecting the precious fruit inside. She likened it the having the Holy Ghost to protect us. As we make bad decisions in our lives we lose the closeness to the Holy Ghost. As she was explaining this she was peeling the orange. At the end she showed how an orange with a peel (Us with the Holy Ghost) can float in water but an orange without the peel would sink. I remember Sister Ruggles giving me an orange after her talk and feeling like I couldn't eat it because I didn't want to take the peel off. This all happened 23 years ago and I can still remember lessons she taught and the way she made me feel. I know the impact that a primary teacher can have on a child and I am grateful for my new calling. I am grateful to Sister Ruggles for teaching me and loving me. I'm also grateful for the chance to think about these memories and share them with others.