Bishop Gardner stayed in his calling for five years and kept
me and Jim Graham as his counselors for the whole time he served. This is not
rare, but typically bishops change at least one counselor during their time.
Because he didn't make any such changes, we were all deeply invested into the
ward and its people.
That has a positive and slightly negative aspect. The
positive is that leadership is most effective in this church when the leaders
establish strong personal relationships. The negative is that when the calling
comes to an end, those relationships, which had a lot to do with the calling, suddenly,
and quite eerily, change.
When I had a time to think about the transition, it was as
if my head, once filled with the voices of all the ward members, went suddenly
silent. It is a hard thing to experience. It is quite lonely and you feel as if
you will never be a contributor to the cause again.
