THE WILL OF THE CHILD

THE WILL OF THE CHILD . . .

Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. (Bible Dictionary pp. 752-53)

As much as one would like to put it off, it came time to think about retirement. The Church had what looked on the surface to be quite an attractive retirement option at age 62, but doing the math over an expected lifetime, it didn’t hold up so well. Nevertheless, we felt under the gun to make the age 62 plan our choice. The vast majority of our colleagues were choosing it; our human resources person recommended it in a retirement seminar, hinting that anyone who didn’t choose it had mush for brains; it was the opinion of many that it was our unwritten duty to step away then, to make way for younger men, not past their prime like us, who could do a better job at far less cost to the Church. Chris and I made it a matter of prayer: the quiet but undeniable impression came to keep doing our homework and the answer would come.

We decided to do just that over Spring Break. Our first stop was Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Springdale High School girls’ basketball team, composed mostly of my former Swoosh players, now juniors and seniors, were in the state championship tournament. They made the Final Four. Players, their parents, and their coaches were genuinely surprised and acted thrilled to see us, flattered that they still mattered to us. Surely it was meant to be that we would live out our lives in the beautiful surroundings of the Ozarks, among those gracious people with whom we had shared so much.

We also went to stake conference in Arkansas (it happened to be that week-end), where we were welcomed by hundreds of our Church brothers and sisters with whom we had lived and served. We learned about some affordable lake-side property being developed by a Church member, seemingly a dream come true, a beautiful beyond description, serene, potential gathering place for friends and family alike. We had lunch with a group of our basketball parent friends, learning of the economic boom going on there as we spoke, a seemingly ideal place to live, invest, and watch our bottom line grow. Surely the Lord would approve if we made the decision to settle there.

But then it was on to Oklahoma, where we had spent the majority of our adult lives, where most of our children had been born and all of them raised. We stayed with dear friends and visited with many others. We were received as beloved family by friends and former students alike. We realized we knew three generations there: our peers, their parents, and their children (in Arkansas we just knew peers and some children – many of the children had left home by then, as most of ours had). I had gone, not long before our visit that week, to the Oklahoma City temple; out of about 40 in the session, I knew 15, plus most of the workers. Word got out that I was there, and the temple president himself stepped out of his office to personally greet me. We investigated real estate; we were offered by a builder friend, the former stake president under whom I had served as bishop, a lot of our choice at his cost, plus he would build a home for us and take no profit. Surely we were home, weren’t we?

Back at work after the break, I was sitting at my desk talking to the Lord in my mind:

“Lord, it’s been ten days since we’ve supposedly completed our homework, and still no answer – what’s with that?”

“Make the phone call; then you’ll know.” (I knew which one He was referring to.)

Along with that impression came a recollection. I had been on my way to the Houston temple the previous winter, deeply pondering whether to retire at 62. An assurance had come, as clearly as if it had been spoken: “Bob, I would welcome your decision to stay on the job awhile longer.”

So I made the phone call. “Kelly [my Area Director], has that position as your assistant been filled, the one we talked about last fall?”

“It hasn’t been; why do you ask?”

“Well, we’ve been thinking. We’d be willing for my name to be placed back on the list of those being considered.”

It happened so fast it made my head swim. Within minutes Salt Lake called, and before that conversation was over we were headed to the Dallas area, to serve as Kelly’s assistant for at least the next four years.

The will of the Father and that of the child were once again aligned.