To the men in the room

My current ward has a tradition of having all the men in the chapel come up to the stand to sing the hymn "Ye Elders of Israel" whenever a young man is leaving for his mission.

I love this tradition.
I cry every time.

And today I wrote a message to the men in the room. I realize there aren't a lot of you (i.e. men) that read this blog, but I'm sharing it anyway:

THANK YOU for being one of His honorable sons.
THANK YOU for taking on the role of taking care of His children.
THANK YOU for being His emisary, a holder of His Holy Priesthood.
THANK YOU for being strong even when you're scared.
THANK YOU for having courage even in moments of weakness.

I cannot comprehend what it is to deal with the pressure of choosing to take on more than yourself in the moment you step up to the plate and ask a girl to marry you.

I can't imagine what it feels like when you see your first baby for the first time and realize you have the responsibility of feeding and clothing and housing this little being. You are the one who is expected to bring in the money to provide for the family. You feel that pressure in a unique way.

I can't quite take in what must go through your head when you know you could be called upon at a moment's notice to play your hands on the head of a fellow son or daughter of God, needing to know you are worthy in that moment to be His mouthpiece.

God's daughters are invited to not be so hard on ourselves.
You are invited to step it up.

We get told to try to not take on so many things, that we can't be everything to everybody, that we're doing good enough.
You get told to be nicer to us, to work harder for us, to not be so tired in your service.

And I just want you to know that a whole lot of us get it.
We see how hard you work.
We see how committed you are.
We see the difference you make.

You are incredibly good.
And you need to know what we feel when a whole chapel of you stand and sing "Ye Elders of Israel".
We feel safe.
We feel like we can trust you.
We feel grateful to know you surround us.

So, on behalf of the women in the room,
We love you.
And from the bottom of our hearts,
We thank you.