Bittersweet change (5/2)

Glen and his two counselors on the day they were called as a bishopric four years ago.

After faithfully serving for four years as the bishop of our church congregation (the Pinnacle Peak ward), Glen and his two counselors were released from their callings. It is difficult to express the bittersweet feelings we have felt about this change. We love our ward family so much and they have been such a blessing to us! 

Although Glen would spend many hours each week away from home as bishop, he always came home a better man, and perhaps more tired. :) His church service has always felt like more of a blessing than a sacrifice. I am so grateful for the inspiration that guides this church. When our stake president told us, after praying and fasting, that it was time for Glen to be released, we felt peace in knowing this was the Lord's will and timing. Our dear friend was called as the new bishop and we are so excited to support and sustain him, his counselors, and their families. As part of the sacrament meeting, I was asked to share my feelings along with Glen, his counselors, and the new Bishopric. This is some of what I said:

"I have been thinking a little bit about plans. The plans that we make for our lives and our families and the plan of happiness our Heavenly Father has for us collectively and individually. So many times, our own plans are not what God’s plans entail. Sometimes the events are different or the timing is different. One thing that my cancer has taught me is that we can trust in our loving Father Heaven and the plan that he has for each of us. On some of my hardest days I have thought about the image of the monkey trap that is used where a box or container of some kind is placed over a type of bait (fruit). An opening is cut on top of the box just big enough for the monkey's paw to reach in and grab the fruit but not large enough to pull it out once its paw is full. Sometimes that bait inside the box is a bad habit, an addiction, a sin or temptation that we must learn to let go of in order to be free from Satan's captivity. But other times it can represent wonderful things that we cherish, things we have worked for, or wished for... like our physical or mental health, our business, our husband, our father, or child. When God's plan for us requires we let go of those things to follow His plan for us, we must learn to follow our Savior's example of submission, surrendering, yielding, trusting, and having our will swallowed up in the Fathers. Jesus Christ used his agency to take upon Him the pain and suffering that would result from my sins and my afflictions so that I would never have to be alone. So that he could succor and heal me in exactly the ways I would need. He is the restorer of all things, he is my life giver, my perfect oncologist, and the hope I feel in each new day. I have found that the Lord is much more concerned about the condition of my heart than he is about my cancer.

After all that Christ endured, he also commands us to lift up our heads and be of good cheer, let not your heart be troubled or afraid because He knows and He sees that even if everything around us seems to be crumbling, His plan will always bring us eventual and eternal joy. So, this life becomes a test of our faith and patience. Do I trust Him enough to believe in his plan? I do. I believe. Do we trust Him enough to repent and obey? As we do, He gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3)"