Our Family: Bishopric

Dustin was outside taking care of the lawn on Saturday and he came to the back door and said, “Brother Lee just called and we have an appointment with the stake president tomorrow after church.” I knew exactly what this call was. A member of our Bishopric was moving and I had been feeling like there was a good chance this is where Dustin would end up. My immediate response was to cry.

I sat through sacrament meeting that week and cried. The following sacrament meeting I sat and cried. I love when Dustin has calling like this comparing to his calling as Elders quorum president. I love to watch the Lord magnify him in his calling and he is social. He develops real love and concern for the people he has stewardship over and I think it’s amazing. This is not how he naturally wants to be. He likes to keep to himself and do his own thing. I love the extended blessings I see and feel when we sacrifice all we can for him to serve at this capacity. However, I was sad to be sitting alone with the kids in church. I figured his time away during the week was not going to be much more than it had been as he was Scoutmaster.

Dustin was calm as can be and felt confident this was not the call that was going to be extended to him. I told him he was humbly nieve. As the calling was extended, Dustin cried. The Stake president reassured him that Heavenly Father knows him personally AND his circumstances and that he still called him into this calling. There is a reason he is here serving now. We found out we would need to leave the family reunion on Saturday night instead of Sunday and the stake president also advised us not to tell anybody including our kids until Saturday besides our parents and the person ordaining him to High Priest. We immediately went to his brother Brian’s house to ask him if he’d ordain Dustin. He is the only one of Dustin’s siblings that is a High Priest. He would also have to leave the reunion a day early in order to make it back in time for the ordination. Thankfully he was ok with it.

In hindsight as I look back over the past few months I felt strongly that our family needed to make some changes. I felt like we were becoming so stagnant where we were at and that the answer was for us to move away and have some new lessons. Dustin had the opportunity to apply for a new position so we decided to try for that instead. Now that he has this calling and new position at work and we have this new “trial” of faith with my thyroid I’m wondering maybe this is what the Lord was preparing my mind for. These opportunities for growth.

I think it was surprising to him how many people in our ward came to him once the sustaining took place and said “I knew it was you.” It was humbling again to hear this, especially to him who felt there was others who could better fill this calling.

We went to the stake building after church and Brian ordained Dustin and then President Johnson set him apart in his calling. My favorite part of the whole day, besides I guess reminding him to prioritize his family and work and church calling was that President Johnson told him he would be a disciple of Jesus Christ and there would be no question who he served. I loved that! I feel so thankful for a good husband who is worthy to hold this calling. Who holds and honors the Priesthood and does is best at all things.

There were lots of concerned people inquiring about who would take his place as Scoutmaster, but our friend Mike Hansen – whom Dustin replaced, was put in this calling. They will all have a good time with Mike.

A friend of mine who’s husband was recently in the Bishopric was talking to me about my only real concern of sacrament meeting and she told me, “angels will sit with you and help you and the kids”. I felt the truth of that and in the 3 weeks we have sat alone, either I have been more patient or the kids have behaved better. Either way it has been a great blessing to us. I am thankful for this opportunity our family has to serve and look forward to the blessings and adventures ahead.