Brian has been called into the bishopric.
With every righteous sacrifice there comes a blessing. I believe that, and even so, the tears have come. I'm not surprised at them, really. After all, a sacrifice isn't really a sacrifice unless it hurts a little.Or a lot.
Right?
He said that he needs a new suit.
He's right.
Truthfully, he probably needs more than one. I'm not sure why that's one of the things that has stuck out to me in all of this. A suit. It just feels a little strange I guess because he doesn't actually wear suits.
Or rather, he didn't.
But he wore one last week.
And when his name was read by the stake president over the pulpit, he rose to his feet right next to me and dang if he didn't look amazing in that suit. The congregation rose their hands to sustain him as the first counselor to the new bishop, and then I watched him gather his things, walk down the aisle, and sit in a seat up front; and the whole time that suit went with him. It looked more like a companion than a crafted piece of fabric, and when he stood to speak it spoke with him, held him up, gave him a quiet power.
He is going to be good at this. I know he is.
Because dang he looked amazing in that suit.
It filled his eyes with humility, and turned his voice soft and gentle. It poured itself out in words of gratitude from his lips and gave his testimony a gentle power.
Power.
How could a suit do it? Fabric and thread, tailored to the exact dimensions of Brian by a pair of skilled Thai hands in a tiny suit shop in downtown Bangkok.
It gave courage to his heart and trust to mine.
And power to us both.
Power.
Power to trust. Power to try. Power to be what the Lord needs us to be. Power to support. Power to love. Power to carry the heavy loads coming our way.
And as I sat pondering how a suit could be all of that, the eyes of my soul were opened and I saw that he was wearing more than one suit that day. A second suit made from sacred priesthood threads hung from his shoulders and infused him with its power.
The power of the priesthood.
It too was tailored to the exact dimensions of Brian, but by the hands of God himself and was given to him as a gift to wear as a representative of Jesus Christ. A suit that he wore in righteousness that wrapped him in the Divine and made him a man of God.
And dang if he didn't look amazing in that suit.
