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