Eighteen days in a row, and a drop of olive oil

A week ago today, my bishop and a friend from my ward placed a drop of blessed olive oil on my head, laid their hands there, and gave me a blessing of health.

I needed it.

Five years of grafting in hospitality

For five years, and especially the last few, I've grafted to climb the ladder in hospitality. More than one job at a time. Weeks of eighty hours and more. Eighteen days in a row.

I felt unwell, and I pushed through it, until I couldn't. A shoulder injury has kept me quiet on LinkedIn and here for a few weeks.

Three blessings

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member who is sick can ask for a blessing of health. Two men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood usually give it. One anoints the person's head with a drop of consecrated olive oil. Then they lay their hands on the head and "seal" the anointing with a blessing, as the Spirit guides. The practice goes back to the Letter of James: "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church."

My bishop and a friend from the ward gave me mine on Monday the 12th.

The next day the missionaries came to see me and gave me a second blessing, of guidance, with the oil again. The Church calls this kind a blessing of comfort and counsel.

And I went back to my patriarchal blessing. Each member is invited to receive one, from a patriarch ordained to serve their stake. The Church describes these blessings as "sacred and personal", so I won't share what mine says. I'll only say that I read it again.

A week in the sun

On the Wednesday, two friends took me out. After that, every day, a different member or family from the ward came and took me out. We had beautiful weather, with the sun shining down on my skin.

I've prayed every day, asking for help and support, and every day my prayers have been answered. My physical and emotional pain eased within days. A camphor balm did its part for the shoulder, and the pain is fully gone now. I'll take it easy for another week or two and keep my head in my studies.

In this trade we talk a lot about making people feel welcome. This week I was on the other side of it.

Sunday at the Cork Ward

The Cork Ward meets in Wilton. Yesterday's sacrament meeting was filled with joyous music, and I sang to my heart's content. It was so refreshing, and so peaceful. Afterwards the young single adults' lessons were on the Old Testament and on fasting and prayer.

The ward is full of people who support one another. I have always felt welcome and loved there, and it goes both ways. The Cork Ward will always have a special place in my heart.

I've been singing every day. I've just received next year's New Testament study guide, Come, Follow Me: For Home and Church, and I hope to teach the gospel in 2027, through music and storytelling. I want to get back to dancing too: bachata and Irish dancing are top of the list.

To my bishop, the missionaries, and all the friends in the ward who supported me when I needed them: go raibh míle maith agaibh.

Burnout in hospitality: don't take the eighteenth shift

If you're in your first season and about to pick up an eighteenth shift in a row: don't do it.

I love the rush of a high-volume service. What I'm learning in my thirties is that balance and lifestyle matter just as much, if you want it to last.

Who will staff Highland hospitality is a question I've written about before, in Who Will Pour the Dram? Staff, Visas and Highland Beds. Keeping the people we already have is part of the answer.

The road north

I have real clarity about the road ahead, and I'm praying on each decision as I continue to grow and heal: physically, mentally and spiritually. I keep thinking of the Footprints poem, and the stretch of sand with only one set of prints.

Inverness is next, and I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life with the Lord as my guide. I've already been in touch with the bishop there, and I plan to sing every day. Long term, I want to put down roots like a vigorous apple tree that can weather any storm. And one day, a Scottish deerhound by the fire.

Managers and owners: what's one rota rule you never break, however busy it gets? Tell me in the comments on LinkedIn, or hit reply if this came to you by email.

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Sin é mo scéal.

Sources

• General Handbook, chapter 18: Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings, sections 18.13 (administering to the sick), 18.14 (blessings of comfort and counsel) and 18.17 (patriarchal blessings)
• Gospel Topics: Patriarchal Blessings
• James 5:14 (King James Version)