Wanna go on a journey...
About a year ago I had the idea to start a 'space' for women who like me, work in full time ministry. I shook it off thinking that it was crazy and no one would enjoy it, myself included. Well, what started as a thought has grown in me and over the last year I have had several people ask me to start putting out some of the lessons that I have learned over the years. I do not consider myself a know-it-all or an eloquent writer so starting a blog seems a little strange to me. So here goes nothing. Welcome to The Preacher's Wife; a blog for women in ministry. My prayer is that this would fill a gap in your life and you too, may find some answers you have been praying for.
Wanna go on a journey...
Pastor's wives are an interesting breed. Most people outside of ministry will never understand exactly what it is that we do, no matter how hard we try to tell them. You will never be able to fully communicate to someone the mantle that you carry, the little seemingly pointless details you oversee or why you guard your home and family with a fierceness that you can't even explain. We love others when they can't love themselves at the same time that we are struggling to even like who we are. We can pray till we are blue in the face for our friend but we fail to pray over ourselves and think, "If only I had the time." We strive so hard to keep ourselves available to the people around us all while maintaining a home, kids and a marriage of our own. These things can be our greatest weakness but they are also what make us great. We have the ability, through His grace, to carry people in our spirits and walk through life with them. What a gift! I don't know about you but I want to be able to hold the people God has given me, not with harshness but with grace. And that takes a lot of growth on our part. Enlarging the capacity of our spirit is no small feat and requires a lot of effort and consistency on our part.
What I also know about women in ministry is, we don't need any one else to compete with. We get enough of that on a daily basis. Having started full time ministry at the age of nineteen, I can tell you that often times, the preacher's wife can be the most insecure person in the room. I get so tired of being in a room with other pastors feeling like I am being 'sized up.' We all know what that feels like. It leaves you feeling like you are not enough. Like their are gaps in your gifting- like God left something out- like I will never get to my promised land. Well ladies, life is too short for that! I am called to one purpose- one race- one journey- and that is the one HE has set for me and my house. My journey will not look like your journey. My way may not be your way. My style may not be your style. AND THAT IS OK! So many times we lead through fear and the unknown. We battle with thoughts like, "Can I really do this?" "I can't handle this platform." "What am I doing?" "She would do it differently." The thoughts can get brutal and out of hand quickly. But even through those thoughts, we remain and keep leading. This is where the blessing comes.
If I have learned anything it is this: We need other women to come along side and guard us, protect our dreams and breathe life into the things that we hide because we don't want to be vulnerable to the people we are called to lead. So instead of us growing so they can grow; we tell them to go chase their dreams while ours dies inside. I believe this is a huge injustice in the ministry world today. How can I expect the women in my world to take their rightful place, if I can't do it!? It doesn't work like that. As Pastor's, we are not called to live a life in hiding- we are called to live a life wide open and in the light of His freedom. Freedom from insecurity and fear. We have to grow. We have to expand. We have to enlarge our thinking. Our hearts. Our capacity.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV
When God shines His light into your life... don't waste the sunshine. GROW BABY GROW. It is my job as a daughter of the King to grow in the knowledge of His Kingdom. I don't ever want to waste the sunshine. So my question for you is this: Do you want to grow with me? With each post we will get stronger together. We were never called to walk this road alone and I believe that if Jesus needed an inner circle, then so do you. We need each other. We grow so they can grow. When I learn to take my place- the ladies beneath me can take their place too.
Some of the topics coming soon will be,
* Speaking Life Into Your Husband On and Off the Platform
* Family and Ministry: Together or Separate
* Building Women Who Understand Authority & Grace
*Allowing God Into the Wilderness
Please go on this journey with me and invite some of your friends to join us on the path. We are in this together and I refuse to be displaced from where Gd has planted me. I look forward to getting to know each of you more.
GROW BABY GROW.
