It has been a long Sunday so far. Rick left for church around 8:30 this morning and won't be home until about 9:30 or 10:00 tonight. As much as the Sabbath is supposed to be a delight, it can also be long, stressful, and exhausting.
This afternoon as I was trying to encourage Brooklyn to put her clothes on (for about the twentieth time), I told her she needed clothes on to go to the church to visit Daddy. Right away she brightened. As she quickly got her clothes on she joyfully exclaimed, "Oh, Daddy! I love my Daddy! He's my Bishop!"
Having the Bishop as your dad or husband creates some interesting circumstances. Tithing settlement is one. We are scheduled for his last appointment of the night tonight at 7:30 pm. He will visit with us, talk to us about tithing and it's importance, probably give us a treat, and ask us if we are full tithe payers--all things any bishop would probably do at tithing settlement, except we have to make an appointment with our dad! I also reminded the kids that we should wear church clothes and be dressed nice for tithing settlement. Emily said, "But he is our dad so it doesn't really matter." I had to remind her that, yes, he is our dad, but he is also the bishop and he is serving in his calling as a representative of the Lord. And because of that, we should be dressed in our best just like he is dressed in a suit to meet with us.
These types of conversations come up all the time. When I am given a calling, I have to meet with the Bishop in his office at church at a specified appointment time. He doesn't just talk to me at home and ask me if I am willing to serve in a particular calling. In fact, sometimes I think he is a little overprotective of me when auxiliaries recommend me to serve in a particular place. Probably because he hears me complain (all too often) about everything I have on my plate with just our family life.
Sometimes having the Bishop in your family can be convenient like with Gavin's baby blessing. We had permission from the bishop to perform the blessing in our home when family was in town. We were able to bless Gavin for Family Home Evening on a Monday night.
Anyway, these are just some random thoughts that came to my mind when Brooklyn shared how much she loves her Bishop.
Sometimes it's hard, but how could we possibly learn if things were never hard? And how wonderful to feel the love of our Bishop just as if he were a member of our own family.

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