Bishop Hatch

Another post dug out from the drafts folder.  I started this on January 28, 2015.

Jared has now been serving as the bishop of our ward for 14 months.  We've been on quite a ride!  I will forever be grateful for the six years he spent as a counselor in the bishopric.  That was a good "warm up" for what we are now experiencing.

There are a few things that have remained the same:

• I still sit alone on Sunday's
• He is still gone every Tuesday and Wednesday night
• Sunday's are still long
• Getting to church is still more difficult than making it through church

And there are a lot of things that have changed:

• We upgraded our cell phone plan to unlimited minutes and texts.  He eats up thousands of minutes every month.
• Yes, he is gone on Tuesday and Wednesday night but he is also gone many other nights as well.
• I've learned that the life of a Bishop's wife can be quite lonely.
• I've also learned that I can do all sorts of difficult things I would have never attempted before (i.e., clean up the blood from a dead dog, take over the outside chores and more)
• We appreciate family time more.
• I'm alone a lot more.

September 26, 2017

As time goes on and Jared still serves as bishop I thought I would add to my list of things that have changed.

• We appreciate our good marriage more than ever
• Although I still do hard things because he isn't around, I have also learned that some things can wait
• Some people really know how to show their appreciation for the sacrifices our family makes
• We've learned to move forward without him when it comes to living everyday life.  I go on vacation alone with the kids, I make decisions that I don't feel he needs to be bothered with, I fix things around the house, etc.
• My concerns and problems actually matter and the concerns and problems that other people have don't outweigh mine, so I need to share them with my husband
• Sadly, we leave him out of most things.  As we fanned through our many Chatbooks the other night he commented that I do a lot without him.  Not just big things, but a lot of little things too. 

We are on the down slide of this and I have to say that a little piece of me is looking forward to having him to ourselves for once in a very long time.  Most of me is sad that it will end.  The blessings have been incredible!  Getting to know people better is so wonderful!  The opportunities that have been given to us have been so tender.  Watching Jared work through the spirit has been so neat- there is no way this calling could be done without the mantle.

Even though this season of our life is very busy and he is gone a lot, I still wouldn't change this opportunity for anything.  I am so thankful for all of the lessons we learned, the love that has grown, how much it's made us grow as people and a couple and mostly, how it has strengthened my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.