The Perfect Sunday

The perfect Sunday.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a perfect Sunday, but I do know that some of my busiest and most hectic Sundays are the best ones. This is something how these Sunday's go:

5:00am: Up to my alarm clock, prayer, and stumbling into the shower
6:00am: Bishopric meeting
7:00am: Ward Council Meeting
8:30am: Priest Quorum Presidency Meeting
9:00am: Interviews
9:30am: Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, and Priesthood
12:30pm: Interviews
2:30pm: Tithing (if it is not completed by my counselors)
3:30pm: Home Teaching or Bishopric Visits
7:00pm: Youth Firesides/Cottage Meetings/Ward Missionary Correlation

The time goes by very quickly. In between every meeting there are people handing you tithing envelopes, asking you questions, bringing things for you to sign, and asking you for interviews. And then there is the searching for those who are new to the ward, or for new converts, or struggling members of the congregation, etc. I really don't stop moving until I come home in the afternoon or evening. There are deeply spiritual moments when I am touched; there are prayers and more prayers; there are many important discussions regarding people of the ward; there is inspiring music; there is watching my family from the stand as Tracy tries to manage with the children; there is the sacrament; there are talks that you worry about the possibility of false doctrine; there are many hands shook and many greetings exchanged; there are primary kids who receive birthday presents at my office after church (thanks to good primary leaders who organize it for me); there are families who come for help both temporally and spiritually; there are things said to me that I sometimes don't know what to say back for a while; there are confessions and repentance; And it all happens in those few hours on Sunday.

We pray in those early morning hours in my office during Bishopric that the Lord will help us with all the interviews, all the meetings we preside over, and over all the work we participate in throughout the day. And at times, when I have a brief moment to myself- I may be walking through the building alone, or locking the doors after we finish the tithing- and a sweet feeling overcomes me-- and I know that God is pleased. I think of all the sacred work that happens between those walls every Sunday, and it is a wonderful thing to behold.

One of the best moments is when I participate in handling the tithing at the end of the day. We cram ourselves into the small clerks office, my counselors and I along with trusty old Bro Burgess (my clerk), and before we start, we kneel down and ask for the Lord's help to oversee the handling of the sacred funds of the church. There is always a special feeling as we do so, and with each envelop that is opened it is as though there is little more faith and light that fills the room. It is like being in the celestial room in the temple. [Brother Burgess is always good for a few laughs- and he is an indomitable servant- he always there despite physical pain and ailing health].

Today one of my counselors helped me bring the sacrament to Brother Kerrison who is battling cancer. We didn't intend to stay long, but we couldn't leave. We ended up staying for an hour or so and had a great discussion with both Brother and Sister Kerrison. For those of you who know him, we almost lost him to cancer this Christmas. It is a long story, but right now he is responding to chemotherapy fairly well and it looks very promising for him. He is in good spirits but has lost almost all his hair and is dealing with all the other side affects that come with chemo.

After Brother Kerrison we went to see Maud Robinson (Bishop Robinson's mother), a widow, to deliver the sacrament to her. We showed up at her assisted living seniors home at 4:30 and they were just getting ready to eat. Well, when she saw us she was so excited that she wouldn't let us leave. She took us by the arms and said "You will stay for dinner won't you?" Even though we were anxious to return to our families, Morgan and I looked at each other, and exchanged looks that said there is no way we can leave her, it means too much to her. So we stayed. She bought us 2 meal tickets and sat us down at a table with her. She was honored to have us there. She kept saying "...I'm not used to having company- nobody visits me anymore- it is so nice to have the Bishop here..." She introduced me to all her friends saying "This is my minister..." And after dinner she took us on a tour of her entire building (all three floors). We gave her the sacrament afterward.

You just leave those types of visits feeling so good.

At the end of the day, after the kids are in bed, and Tracy is pretty ragged from her own calling, being pregnant, and watching the kids all day, we finally relax. It is the closest thing to my mission that I have experienced. I am so tired, but feel so blessed, at the end of these busy days.

Jord

Unanswered Prayers

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed..." [Prayer is the Souls sincere Desire, James Montgomery 1818]

In my life there have been a stream of wonderfully answered and wonderfully unanswered prayers. Unanswered prayers to me, in this context, are requests made of Heavenly Father that he did not, for reasons unbeknownst to me at the time, grant to me.

The latest unanswered prayer was a request I made to Heavenly Father, uttered throughout the last few months of struggling along in our business, to keep our partnership alive. One partner was with Doug and I since the beginning of last year and became a good friend to me over that last year, through some very stressful times. And the others were 4 minor partners that came on board over the last 3 months.

Without going into great detail of the people involved and the storied past, I will just say that I loved these partners. Our long time partner and very close friend decided to leave us just last week, despite my prayers and efforts otherwise. This partner wielded a lot of influence, was very charismatic and fun to work with. And when he left us, the more recent, minor partners started to waver in their commitment. They held on for another week after the first partner left but broke the news to us today that they were "out."

As the end drew near in the partnership it was very hard on me, I suppose because I was committed to these partners with all my heart, I was completely unreserved, and gave them my trust, my heart, and really my life in many ways. I also felt like their leaving was vote of non-confidence in me, in us, in the business we were/are building. It is difficult to describe, but it was a very emotional time. I agonized over their leaving.

Now it is only Doug and I and the few employees we have working for us.

As I saw the beginning of the end of all of this, I prayed that the Lord would help me salvage the partnership and help us move forward. Today as I pondered these things I came to the realization of some wonderful blessings as a result of this unanswered prayer.

The following are the blessings of these unanswered prayers:

1. The relationship between Doug and I took a major step in the right direction. With the fall-out of the partners- Doug and I pulled together. In fact, previously in the partnership, Doug and I were polarized. And I especially harbored bad feelings towards Doug. I knew at the time that the bad-will I had towards him was born of pride, but I was unwilling to let that go. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't always bad. But it definitely wasn't good either. I didn't want to talk to him many times. It has been an evolution since the beginning of our time in this partnership, and it had been getting better, but over the course of the fall-out we began to pull together. The blessing to me was to re-find love for a brother, and to re-find a friend who had been buried beneath petty differences and bickering.
2. A spiritual affirmation that success is inevitable if we adhere to correct principles. I am not blaming my partners for any failings- I know the buck stops with me. But they were never as keen as Doug and I were/are to be merciful, to be honest, to be good to others. But beyond that important fact- my confidence in what we are trying to do really increased. This experience was a moment, like moments that I have had before in my life, where I let go of fear, stepped out into the darkness and then realized that I would be OK. Over the day it became clear to me that I do not need them to succeed. I realize now that they may have been slowing me down, and I should have had the confidence to move on before. There have been other moments like this in my life, and they usually mark times where great personal growth happened in my life, and where blessings came as a result. It is like in the movie "Matrix," Neo taking the red pill, and awakening to reality after doing so.
   
3. Bigger percent ownership, better savings, and better income. We had three partners requiring a hefty income from a growing business that could not afford the partners very easily. Problem solved. Now more money can go back into the business.

I love these words:
"When sore trials came upon you, Did you think to pray? When your soul was full of sorrow, balm of Gilead did you borrow-at the gates of day? Oh how praying rests the weary. Prayer will change the night to day. So when life gets dark and dreary, don't forget to pray." [Did you think to pray, Mary A Kidder, 1876]

Truly my life was changed from night to day. And truly we are all blessed for a God who hears and answers prayers according to his will and our best interests.

Jord.