Today's Devotional Thought
February 01, 2012 by Wendy Foreman
From the Heart of a Pastor's Wife
I titled today's devotional, From the heart of a Pastor's Wife because I feel like I have never really shared my Pastor's wife heart with you over the 2 1/2 years that we have done devotionals. I oftentimes think that there are things that you need to keep to yourself when you are in the ministry. There is some truth to that statement, but today, I guess I want to share a few things because just maybe it will help you, our readers, to better understand how to pray for your Pastor's wife and perhaps give you a glimpse into her life.
When you are in ministry, your life is not really your own. Jesus really calls all Christians to submit to him and surrender our lives, but when you are in ministry, you really surrender your life to serving the church body and taking care of the needs of people around you. Those needs involve their spiritual needs, but also many times, it is their emotional needs and their physical needs. It comes in many forms. Aside from all of the programs and teaching, it is personal counseling. It is being called out in the middle of the night because a loved one has passed away. It is marriage counseling. It is counseling parents in how to handle their teenager who has just been caught with marijuana. It is being so aware of how many people are hurting in your congregation and feeling their hurts down deep in your heart too.
As a Pastor's wife, I am often involved in these things, but not always. My main ministry is taking care of the man who is. While I do try to be involved in the lives of the hurting people in my church, I also have to take care of the man who is leading the church and take care of our kids and the house so that he can minister to the congregation in the way that God has called him to.
In addition to trying to take care of the needs of many around me, I also hear the opinions of others where our husbands are concerned. And yes, we get the, "Could you please tell your husband that he needs to..."{you fill in the blank}. We hear all the criticism and the ways that he could do better. And, we also hear his praises and that makes our hearts smile because that is when people see what we have known all along.
We don't really have many people we can call friends or connect to because we can't open up and share all the things that we experience like most people can. And whether people will recognize it or not, we seem to be expected to be more spiritual & have the most well behaved children, and never have any problems in our life. We often hear how lucky we are to be married to the pastor and how he must be the perfect man (friends, he's not...he's human like everyone else!).
We live in a fishbowl.
Also, we share our husbands. This is something that I struggle with and I dare say many Pastors' wives do. We can have a wonderful day planned with our husband and perhaps even our children and a call comes in and it changes everything. I have spent many, many nights home alone with the kids waiting for my husband to come home. And I have had date nights interrupted and family gatherings interrupted more times than I can count.
Friends, church and loving the precious people that God has placed us with, is our life. We pray for the congregation. We weep for them. My husband stays up late at night preparing for Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. He spends his days preparing as well and goes and visits and finds ways to connect to those in the community too. A lot of the visiting I do with him and I find ways to connect to the women in the church through Bible study and other events. Church is our life and it is a calling that we love.
The typical day in the life of a Pastor's wife is far from "typical." It is unpredictable, sometimes lonely, and at times feels like more than one couple can bear. But, it is precious beyond words.
There is nothing like seeing the look on someone's face when they come to salvation in Jesus Christ. There is such great joy in watching others grow in their faith and being able to walk alongside them through it all. My heart swells when commitments are made and when those I love are baptized. Weddings, dedications of babies and being able to be part of a going home celebration of a dear brother or sister in Christ are moments that bring indescribable joy.
My husband once had someone in ministry very dear to him say, "You will never be able to do anything else but ministry and be truly happy." And friends, as weary as some days may get, there is nothing else we would rather do in this life.
Pray for your Pastor's wife today. Pray that God surrounds her with his love and strength. That she would be encouraged through His Word and find His peace. Pray that she would be led by Him daily and that He would be her strong tower and refuge. Pray for your Pastor as well. The Lord has placed an incredible call on both of their lives and they need your daily prayers.
December