The Hands That Reached Out To Me

So I mention in one of my last posts that the Bishop in the new area I moved to in Portland, has been calling me inviting me to church and to meet with him. You can hear the ALOG here. Well I finally decided to contact him. Here are the EDITED e-mail I sent and received.

Bishop -----,

First off let me apologize for not returning your calls. To be honest I did not know what I wanted to do in terms of calling you back. Let me explain why.

It is nothing personal, in fact that is why I am writing now. I really enjoyed my time I spent in the ------ ward when I was there a couple years ago. I thought you were an amazing bishop and I felt the love you had for all the members and myself included, even though I was there a short time. 

As Im sure Bishop ------ informed you, Im going through a lot right now in my personal life, and the thing that I find the best is space for myself. When I say space, I mean the ability to go to church and participate at the level that I want and feel I can handle, instead of feeling the obligation to devot a particular amount of activity. In saying this, I should inform you that when I do go to church it is to the branch downtown, only for the reason that it is the most easily accessible without a vehicle, since I only use transit.

I had a dream last night, and in thinking about it I feel is was in some sense encouraging me to contact you, and so this is why I am emailing you now. 

When I have made some decisions on what I want to do with my life, and when Im sure I have the determination to be behind that decision 100% I will follow it, but as of right now I still cannot give 100% and so I am giving what I can. I hope you can understand what I mean. 

Once again Im sorry for not returning your phone call and please know it was not personal, and I appreciate you as a bishop very much. 

Thank you.

P.S. Since I am in school full time and working when Im not at school, the best way to contact me is through e-mail.

His reply:

Hi Trevor,

Thank you for your email and I do understand that you are trying to sort out things in your life.  I want you to know that when I last called you I was prompted by the Spirit.  This was a very strong impression to contact you and I am grateful that you felt impressed to respond.  I'm here to help you, not add to your challenges.  When we have trials in our lives, many times it is hard to give 50% much less 100% and they become bigger than we can handle.  If that is the case, I'm here to help.  I don't want you to feel I'm "bugging" you, but know that I'm here when you decide what you need to do.  If you want your records moved to the -------- Branch since you have been attending there, please let me know.  I would be honored to work with you when you are ready, but truly want what works best for you.  Remember Heavenly Father and the Lord love you deeply.

Warm wishes,

Bishop -------

I hope that you are able to feel the same love that I felt when I read his response. This Bishop truly has a grasp on Christ-like love. His response alone, makes me want to go to church more. I know he is sincere and genuine, and he comes from a good place and his intentions are pure love.

I wish everyone had a Bishop like this!