So much of our lives lately is closing chapters. I guess that's what happens when you live in the same place for eleven years!
This weekend concluded nine years of service for John in the Altoona Pennsylvania Stake Presidency. When he was called nine years ago, he was called as the second counselor, but when President Rupper (the first counselor) moved to China back in 2012, John was called as the first counselor to President Price, and today he was released.
We've known for a while that it was coming. In April, President Price received this letter:
Dear President Price,
After careful consideration in a recent meeting of the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, and in view of your tenure of service, it was determined to reorganize the presidency of the Altoona Pennsylvania Stake.
Accordingly, it is with sincere appreciation for your watchful guidance of stake affairs and your deep concern of the welfare of the people that we now extend to you and your counselors honorable releases from your positions in the stake presidency. This will take effect at a conference to be held on June 10-11, 2017.
We would like you and your counselors to accept our heartfelt gratitude for your loyal, consecrated service to the Lord, His cause, and the people over whom you have had the honor to preside. We also acknowledge the valued support and service given by your wife and the wives of your counselors.
We pray that the Lord will bless, protect, and be with you always.
Sincerely your brethren,
Thomas S. Monson
Henry B. Eyring
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I don't think I've posted much about John serving in the Stake Presidency. It's been so much a part of our lives that it hasn't seemed like anything out of the ordinary. In fact, coming from him serving as bishop in Bitburg, it was really just par for the course. It has meant that every Saturday morning, he has risen at 7:20 for a conference call with the other presidency members at 7:30. He usually spends the time, getting his running/walking done for the day, and he has even run a couple of marathons while having his stake presidency meeting :-) It means that he's gone every Sunday for the entire day, and when people ask me where he is that day, I always reply that I have absolutely no idea. He is gone Saturdays for meetings. He schedules temple recommend interviews at our home either when the kids and I are in Philadelphia, or other times. He is almost constantly replying to emails, texts or phone calls in regards to his calling, but a lot of those come after we have settled in for tv watching or a movie in the evening. It's all just become part of the fabric of our lives.
Just a few people expressed happiness for me that it will all be "over". John's business (and I write that as busy-ness) rarely bothers me. In all honesty, he's happiest when he's busy, and when he's helping people. Serving in the stake presidency has married those two activities, and when John is happy, we are all happy.
If I had to label his release with an emotion, it would definitely be sadness. I'm sad for John and the for the other stake presidency members, because I never once had the feeling that they thought their service was a burden. In fact, they love their callings, because they have loved the members of the Altoona Pennsylvania stake. And it was obvious today, as they were released, they the members of the stake have felt of their love, and they also feel that sadness.
For the past two nights, John has woken up and been unable to go back to sleep because he has worried about his "friends": he is worried about the people for whom he cares so deeply around the stake. He wants them to be taken care of, and he has hoped that they know that he did all he could to help them.
A couple of weeks ago, the stake presidency and their wives got together for dinner at the State College Country Club. There was a palpable feeling of sadness over the group, but everyone was putting on their best faces through mindless chit chat. So, I decided to ask each of the presidency members what they had learned or loved most about their nine years of service. I meant for it to be rather light-hearted, as I thought it would bring up some fun memories, but it almost became a kind of mini-testimony meeting....or therapy session. President Price then turned the question around on me (and the other spouses), and I couldn't help but share the biggest observation I had had through the years:
I really believe that this presidency delivered a message of love and acceptance to everyone in the Stake. We are one of the largest geographical stakes in the United States, and we are also an extremely poor stake in terms of economy. There are a lot of members in the outlying units who are barely surviving on the little money they bring in, and yet their testimonies are strong. However, it can be easy to focus on the educated/wealthy members in the State College area who aren't plagued with banal concerns. I really believe that those three men made everyone feel important and included, no matter their living conditions. In fact, I can't count the number of little, white-haired women who came up to me to tell me how much they would miss my husband. Those women just want to be remembered and noticed, and the three good men in our Stake Presidency did just that.
As the outgoing Stake Presidency and the spouses met with Elder Clayton and Elder Dunnigan today before they were released, Elder Clayton had some parting words for all of us. Both Sister Price and Sister Hark mentioned feeling fear about the releases; they had seen so many blessings in their family's lives because of their husband's service, that they worried what would happen to their lives after their releases. In fact, Sister Price said that she and President Price would now have to figure out how to raise their children on their own since neither of them felt they had done it for the past nine years.
Elder Clayton mentioned the consecrated service that missionaries give on their missions. Such a small time for them to give everything to the Lord, and yet at the end of their missions, the blessings are more than they could even think to ask for.
(As a side note, as Elder Clayton was beginning to talk about this, I remembered a distinct moment from a few years ago after Ethan had returned from his mission. He had found a job posted at American for a male babysitter. He went to the interview and was immediately offered the job for $25/hour. I had dropped him off and was parked down the street waiting for him. I can remember him walking back to the car, telling me that he had gotten the job. I told him that it was like blessings were raining down on him from heaven on that sunny day as this was just one of so many miraculous blessings that happened to him when he came off of his mission.)
Elder Clayton told all of us to not think of this as an end. As a moment when the blessings stop. But instead, to think of it as a time when the Lord will rain down blessings on us now because of the sacrifices we were willing to make for so long. In fact, we had every right to expect Him to give us those blessings.
And you know, in that moment, I knew that what he was saying was true. John and I have worried about what our lives will be over the next few years as we try and find our way in a new place with new people...and without our kids. But it's comforting to remember that Heavenly Father will be there. He will bless us.
And with that, it's easy to see this release not as an end, but as a beginning. We don't know what the future will hold, but no doubt it will be something great!
This weekend concluded nine years of service for John in the Altoona Pennsylvania Stake Presidency. When he was called nine years ago, he was called as the second counselor, but when President Rupper (the first counselor) moved to China back in 2012, John was called as the first counselor to President Price, and today he was released.
We've known for a while that it was coming. In April, President Price received this letter:
Dear President Price,
After careful consideration in a recent meeting of the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, and in view of your tenure of service, it was determined to reorganize the presidency of the Altoona Pennsylvania Stake.
Accordingly, it is with sincere appreciation for your watchful guidance of stake affairs and your deep concern of the welfare of the people that we now extend to you and your counselors honorable releases from your positions in the stake presidency. This will take effect at a conference to be held on June 10-11, 2017.
We would like you and your counselors to accept our heartfelt gratitude for your loyal, consecrated service to the Lord, His cause, and the people over whom you have had the honor to preside. We also acknowledge the valued support and service given by your wife and the wives of your counselors.
We pray that the Lord will bless, protect, and be with you always.
Sincerely your brethren,
Thomas S. Monson
Henry B. Eyring
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I don't think I've posted much about John serving in the Stake Presidency. It's been so much a part of our lives that it hasn't seemed like anything out of the ordinary. In fact, coming from him serving as bishop in Bitburg, it was really just par for the course. It has meant that every Saturday morning, he has risen at 7:20 for a conference call with the other presidency members at 7:30. He usually spends the time, getting his running/walking done for the day, and he has even run a couple of marathons while having his stake presidency meeting :-) It means that he's gone every Sunday for the entire day, and when people ask me where he is that day, I always reply that I have absolutely no idea. He is gone Saturdays for meetings. He schedules temple recommend interviews at our home either when the kids and I are in Philadelphia, or other times. He is almost constantly replying to emails, texts or phone calls in regards to his calling, but a lot of those come after we have settled in for tv watching or a movie in the evening. It's all just become part of the fabric of our lives.
Just a few people expressed happiness for me that it will all be "over". John's business (and I write that as busy-ness) rarely bothers me. In all honesty, he's happiest when he's busy, and when he's helping people. Serving in the stake presidency has married those two activities, and when John is happy, we are all happy.
If I had to label his release with an emotion, it would definitely be sadness. I'm sad for John and the for the other stake presidency members, because I never once had the feeling that they thought their service was a burden. In fact, they love their callings, because they have loved the members of the Altoona Pennsylvania stake. And it was obvious today, as they were released, they the members of the stake have felt of their love, and they also feel that sadness.
For the past two nights, John has woken up and been unable to go back to sleep because he has worried about his "friends": he is worried about the people for whom he cares so deeply around the stake. He wants them to be taken care of, and he has hoped that they know that he did all he could to help them.
A couple of weeks ago, the stake presidency and their wives got together for dinner at the State College Country Club. There was a palpable feeling of sadness over the group, but everyone was putting on their best faces through mindless chit chat. So, I decided to ask each of the presidency members what they had learned or loved most about their nine years of service. I meant for it to be rather light-hearted, as I thought it would bring up some fun memories, but it almost became a kind of mini-testimony meeting....or therapy session. President Price then turned the question around on me (and the other spouses), and I couldn't help but share the biggest observation I had had through the years:
I really believe that this presidency delivered a message of love and acceptance to everyone in the Stake. We are one of the largest geographical stakes in the United States, and we are also an extremely poor stake in terms of economy. There are a lot of members in the outlying units who are barely surviving on the little money they bring in, and yet their testimonies are strong. However, it can be easy to focus on the educated/wealthy members in the State College area who aren't plagued with banal concerns. I really believe that those three men made everyone feel important and included, no matter their living conditions. In fact, I can't count the number of little, white-haired women who came up to me to tell me how much they would miss my husband. Those women just want to be remembered and noticed, and the three good men in our Stake Presidency did just that.
As the outgoing Stake Presidency and the spouses met with Elder Clayton and Elder Dunnigan today before they were released, Elder Clayton had some parting words for all of us. Both Sister Price and Sister Hark mentioned feeling fear about the releases; they had seen so many blessings in their family's lives because of their husband's service, that they worried what would happen to their lives after their releases. In fact, Sister Price said that she and President Price would now have to figure out how to raise their children on their own since neither of them felt they had done it for the past nine years.
Elder Clayton mentioned the consecrated service that missionaries give on their missions. Such a small time for them to give everything to the Lord, and yet at the end of their missions, the blessings are more than they could even think to ask for.
(As a side note, as Elder Clayton was beginning to talk about this, I remembered a distinct moment from a few years ago after Ethan had returned from his mission. He had found a job posted at American for a male babysitter. He went to the interview and was immediately offered the job for $25/hour. I had dropped him off and was parked down the street waiting for him. I can remember him walking back to the car, telling me that he had gotten the job. I told him that it was like blessings were raining down on him from heaven on that sunny day as this was just one of so many miraculous blessings that happened to him when he came off of his mission.)
Elder Clayton told all of us to not think of this as an end. As a moment when the blessings stop. But instead, to think of it as a time when the Lord will rain down blessings on us now because of the sacrifices we were willing to make for so long. In fact, we had every right to expect Him to give us those blessings.
And you know, in that moment, I knew that what he was saying was true. John and I have worried about what our lives will be over the next few years as we try and find our way in a new place with new people...and without our kids. But it's comforting to remember that Heavenly Father will be there. He will bless us.
And with that, it's easy to see this release not as an end, but as a beginning. We don't know what the future will hold, but no doubt it will be something great!
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