The Key West Branch Conference

Yesterday was the Key West Branch's Branch Conference, and they got a new Branch Presidency.  So, as is the Mormon tradition, the old Presidency and the wives bore their testimonies and then the new Presidency and the wives bore their testimonies.

And there couldn't have been a better meeting for me.

I could relate to the newly called men and their wives as they stood up and bore their testimonies of the truthfulness of the Gospel and their willingness to serve, even though they were imperfect and somewhat unprepared and unqualified for such a call.  I cried because I was so touched, and I thought about what my testimony would have been like had I been asked to give it when Rob was first called.  Rob's testimony was hesitant, and you could tell how nervous he was.

I wasn't asked to bear my testimony.  Why?  Probably because it would have been chaotic.  I would have said, with a smile, that I was sad Rob wouldn't have a beard for a while, and that he wouldn't be sitting with us at church.  But I would have said with conviction that I knew this was where Rob needed to serve right now.  I would have said that I know the Lord loves us and knows where to call us.  And I would have related Rob's reaction to his call, which is worth relaying mostly because it's so funny.  Rob walked into the meeting thinking they were going to call him to some stake position, maybe in the YM Presidency.  He was prepared to tell them no.  But instead he was called to be the 2nd Counselor to Bishop Cybulski in the Western Hills Ward.  Rob's jaw dropped.  His head went back, as if someone had physically hit him.  He choked on his words.  And then he said Yes, Of Course, even though it was so unexpected.  (The whole time I wanted to laugh at him, and I STILL wish the moment had been videotaped.  It was awesome.)

It wasn't until they had well established Rob's response that they turned to me.  President Woestman (he's Jim, and my friend, but for the sake of this story we can call him Pres.) asked how I felt about it, but he didn't have to ask.  The calling came to me like something you hear but you somehow already knew.  Did I have reservations?  Some, mostly having to do with the extra time commitment and sacrifices our family would make.  But those didn't matter.  The answer was Yes.  Yes, yes, yes. 

It's nearly been 2 years since then, and it's been an interesting process.  In some ways it feels like he was just called and that we're still learning a lot about how to make things work.  And in other ways it feels like he's always had this calling and that we could make it work for the rest of our lives.

The one thing I know is that slowly the sacrifices we make, the demands of the calling, and that feeling of obligation, has gone away.  Some days I'm angry and frustrated and I hate everything about his calling.  But those days are fewer and fewer.  Without anything actually changing, the obligations are fewer because suddenly they aren't obligations at all.  They're priviledges.  The extra meetings, the longer times needed, they aren't sacrifices.  They're opportunities.

I don't know all about why those changes took place, or how.  But I know Heavenly Father loves us.  And I am grateful for the blessings we have received through Rob's service as a Counselor in the Bishopric.

At the end of Branch Conference, I heard someone say what was said to me when Rob was first called, "I'm so sorry that your husband was called to the Branch Presidency."  Of course we're supposed to laugh lightly about that.  And while at one time I would have said the same thing, and for a while I did say something similar ("If the Stake President calls and asks to talk to you, don't do it!"), I wouldn't say anthing like that now.  I would say, instead, "What a singular opportunity for growth!  I'm happy and excited for you."

A lot of what is in my heart surrounding Rob's calling, ... I can't define it.  But I'm grateful for it.