When I started dating Herman almost nineteen years ago I knew that life with him was always going to be an adventure. He has always been a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, encouraging me to take the turns life throws at us and see where we end up with smiles on our faces. From the very beginning I knew that life with him would never be boring, and I knew that I always had a choice whether to have a bit of faith and walk through life with a smile on my face, or I could go through that same life kicking and screaming and making a fuss about where the Lord was leading us. I decided early on in my marriage that I was going to do my best to be a smiler. There have been times when I have had to talk myself into a smile. I can't honestly say that every single path we have found ourselves on has been my ultimate first choice for a path. Sometimes the road is a bit bumpier and curvier than I would prefer. But I have found that as Herman and I work together and try to find the positive in every situation we encounter, we are able to grow as a couple, as a family, and as individuals. That way of thinking has gotten us through lots of adventures in the Church. It has carried us through Herman's time spent as a seminary teacher and my time working on girls camp. It has most recently carried us through his time serving as a bishop. It has taken a situation that might have been difficult for a young (or youngish) family, and made it into a blessing in our lives. I have never, ever felt as if supporting Herman in his church callings has ever been difficult for me. There might have been a time or two when I wanted to sigh a bit because he was pulled away from us when I wanted him to stay, but ultimately those times were few and far between. The callings that both of us have held have not hurt our marriage or family. They have strengthened them. So I have a great deal of faith in the blessings that come when we are willing to accept the challenges that the Lord places before us. There is only one answer when He calls, and that is "Yes."
So that leads to the events of today. Part of me feels like I shouldn't even mention anything about it. After all, in the Church there are no callings that are more important than others. Our way of thinking tends to want to order things in a pattern of seniority similar to what we see in most organizations like our government, our military, our businesses, etc. But in the Church I don't really believe that things work that way. There is a system of organization that keeps order and regularity throughout the units through the world, but the reality is that whatever position we hold, whether it is as a primary teacher or a clerk or a librarian, or a bishop, or whatever, we have the opportunity to better the life of the people in our care. That job is essential for each person who is blessed by the service performed by us in those callings. Each act of service done is equally able to touch the lives of the people around us. So no one calling is more important than another.
But today Herman was called as 2nd counselor in our new St. Robert stake presidency. It will be a new sort of adventure for us as he does his best to fulfill his calling. I am thinking that it might not be as time consuming as his time as a bishop. He will certainly have some long Sundays, but there might not be as many extra days spent in serving in this calling. We'll see how the schedule pans out. We'll be ready to handle whatever comes our way. I was a bit sad as I sat with Herman in the congregation as the meeting began today, holding his hand like we tend to do while waiting for meetings to begin. Then Herman leaned over to say that this would be the last time that we would sit together at a church meeting except for General Conference for a few years. I have always enjoyed sitting with Herman in stake conferences. It used to be because I was just so happy that there was another set of arms to corral the kids. But as the kids have gotten older and less prone to diving head first over the pews on a whim I have simply enjoyed being able to just sit next to the man I love/adore/admire/trust and hold his hand or rub his shoulder or lean my head on his shoulder. It isn't like I don't get the chance to do that every day of the week, but I just enjoy sitting in a church meeting and feeling like we are experiencing the meeting together. When Herman is on the stand, whether it is as a bishop or now as a member of the stake presidency, we have to rely on our super secret facial twitches and hand signals to communicate across the aisles. We'll get the job done, but it isn't quite the same as sitting side by side.
But I was terribly worried when Herman got called as a bishop. I was worried that it would take so much time that it would harm our family. I was worried because I thought that I now needed to have an immaculate front room to accommodate all of that people who would drop by the house unexpectedly and who would be expecting to find a perfect clean home of a bishop. Instead I have found that in the four years that Herman has served as a bishop our family has been richly blessed. Yes, he has had to spend some long days serving in his calling. He has occasionally been called away unexpectedly to help someone in need. But the blessings we have received as a family have more than made up for any slight inconveniences we have encountered along the way. It is a calling that I would never actively seek out for our family, but it is one that has brought us so many blessings. I have seen the spiritual growth in all of us as Herman has served in this capacity. I am sure that we will find the same sort of blessings as Herman serves in this new position.
So today we embark on a new journey of church service. I have always been so grateful to the leaders who have called us to our various callings that they are always sure to emphasize that our callings are never meant to supercede our responsibilities to our families. Family is always the most important things. When President Moe called Herman as a bishop he made sure to tell Herman to always take the time to let us know that we are important. When Elder Gonzalez called Herman this weekend, he said that same thing. I am grateful for their encouragement in this matter, but I have never, ever had to worry about this. I always joke with Herman because when other men get up to speak after receiving callings they are always saying how much they love their wife, but Herman never really does that. But I am only joking with him when I tease him about this because I never worry about his feelings for me. He shows me through his actions every single day that he adores me. He is my prince, and I am his queen. I never worry that I will be neglected or unappreciated as he serves in these callings.
Today after Herman was called he headed to the stand. President Moe gave his final talk and then they called me up to bear my testimony. I really wish I had a better memory for what occurs in those moments. I have no idea what I said. I made my way up to the stand and passed Minsy off to Herman since she was clinging to me pretty much, and I didn't have the older girls to take care of her while I spoke. I have never spoken in stake conference before, so I have never looked out over the congregation from the front. When I got up there and looked out over the group I was a bit shocked at the number of people looking at me. I have spoken to that many people before, but the lights were lower so I didn't have to focus on any faces. I just decided to focus on the top of the heads of two of my friends in the middle of the auditorium, and my nerves calmed a bit. Then I spoke. Who knows what I said. I sure don't. But I didn't see any looks of horror on any faces as I headed back to my seat, so it must have turned out okay.
Minsy made it further into the meeting than I was expecting. I didn't know how she would handle having to be quiet and mostly still for two straight hours. I expected to have to drag all the kids out into the hall after a few minutes of the meeting. But Minsy made it all the way until the last half hour of the meeting without having any problems. I had to stand with her for the rest of the time. She was super wiggly and really needed to take a nap, but there was too much going on for her to really calm down. I managed to keep her happy until the end of the meeting, but I was unable to really get much out of Elder Gonzalez's talk at the end there.
Minsy was really fighting her fatigue by the time the meeting ended and we headed to a meeting room to set apart the new stake presidency. All of the new presidency members were there along with their families. I was the only one there with a wiggly, semi-crying child. I didn't want to ruin the moment for the others by having a crying child in the room, so I ducked into the hall while President Nigliazzo and President Jones were set apart. I was a bit sad that I missed that while I was out in the hall, but it all worked out. Luckily, I was able to be there when Herman was set apart, and it was a nice thing to witness.
So now Herman will soon no longer be Bishop Blau. He will now be President Blau. As we were driving home I was talking to the kids and said that President Blau doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as Bishop Blau or Brother Blau. JoJo just looked at me and said, "Don't worry Mom. You can still call him Herman." And that is true. He is still, and will always be, my Herman. This is another new adventure for our family, but we have faith that it will be an exciting adventure with lots of blessings in store. I can't wait to see where this new adventure takes us!
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