A bittersweet release.

Well, it's official. My better half was officially released as seminary teacher from our church yesterday, and it was bittersweet.

Bittersweet for many reasons.

He taught early morning seminary for four years. FOUR! In the midst of it all we had a beautiful baby boy who will be turning three in two months.  It wasn't easy for those nine months being pregnant having him interrupt my sleep during my last trimester by waking up at 4:30 in the morning every day, but who gets comfortable sleep anyway when you're eight and nine months pregnant anyway! Half the time I didn't mind.

Having this calling was easy for him because he made the choice to make it work. His job is retail sales which means that on some days he would get out of work at 10pm. During the holidays he'd get out even later. Sometimes as late as midnight! Picture having a full-time job like that and then having to wake up at 4:30 every morning with a teenager to go teach more teens! Sometimes it wasn't easy, but we made the choice as a family to make it work, and it did.

Teaching seminary has always been a dream for him, and it came true when we moved here to New Jersey. He will miss the kids, the calling itself, and is extremely grateful for having to teach all standard works (Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, The Old Testament, and New Testament.) Now it is someone else's turn to wake up early, learn, and spiritually grow from teaching the scriptures to the youth.

Knowing that he had this calling made waking up each day easier for him to deal with "life". "It was like going to Sunday school every morning instead of every Sunday. You get spiritually fed knowing that your knowledge of the scriptures continues to increase while teaching it with patience and love to the youth. " He will miss the games, the laughter, but most of all he will miss watching each kid grow spiritually. He is so thankful for the opportunity, and he will always remember this humbling chapter in his life.

"I look back at all of those years I taught the youth, and all of the trials, and blessings that occurred in between, and it was all worth it. It was worth lacking all that sleep by working late, and having a newborn who wouldn't sleep through the night for the first two months! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I would."

~Jon