I can’t believe I married a pastor!!!

About six years ago, I married a senior pastor.  It was not a job I applied for.

In fact, had someone told me I would be one day married to a pastor, I would have walked away from them without so much as a “have a nice day”.

I had been a single mom for over thirteen years and I enjoyed a rather obscure life. Sure, I had friends, but my life was comfortably simplistic and uncontested. Not one for drawing attention and being a bit of a “control freak”,  I loved having my life controlled by me. I worked in my church and I loved my life.

What’s more, I attended a mega church, lived in a big community and had grown accustomed to the “invisibility” of my life. But,  God had another plan for me and my pre-teen son, Ben.

My relatively simple and predictable life was about to change.

A charming and upcoming young pastor, named John, and I shared a mutual friend.

After relentless attempts to introduce us, I became the “victim” of a quick setup by Kevin and an even quicker courtship courtesy of John! Shortly thereafter, I became “Mrs. Pastor” and walked into the “twilight zone” of front–line ministry.

It really seemed like a “twilight zone” and I learned quite a bit early on. For example, I learned:

Pastors wives and the congregation

– God gives you a grace to love far beyond your experience and imagination. It’s like He gave me a supernatural love for my new church family.

I can’t fathom how this happened. It’s beyond my comprehension.  It’s like when you have a baby, you think all your love is taken and poured into that child.  Then, you have another one and discover there is magically more love to bestow on the second, third and fourth baby.

As you stay close to the Lord, He will empower you to love His people (just as He does) by the power of His Holy Spirit.

The best thing a pastor's wife can do is be herself. #pastorswives Click To Tweet

Clothes are a big thing in pastor wife life.

Clothes and appearances mean more to people than they should. My advice: just be yourself, Girl, and you’ll be fine.

This was the first and best bit of advice my mother-in-law gave me. She told me just that in her North Carolina drawl “be yourself”.

She also told me not to let my husband boss me around, but that’s another post. 🙂 Trust me. That has not been a problem. At all!

Anyhoo, people will love you for you. I likely scare some people with my jeans on Easter and big afro, but who cares? I’m being me!

Ask me why I wore jeans on Easter Sunday. It’s a story I love to tell. Being married to a pastor didn’t change me. Jeans is my thing!

Pastors Wives must be close to the Lord. Must!

My own intimate walk with Christ is the most critical element to my success as a pastor’s wife (and as a human being, for that matter). Without a strong prayer life, I’d have nothing to offer in ministry.

Plus, I’d likely hang people by their toes (hubby included) for getting on my nerves! Keep that walk with Christ strong and consistent.

Trust God with your heart and your feelings.

Love people freely without fear of rejection.

As I always say, the Bible has no job description for our role as pastors wives, so take the pressure off and love God’s people in a way that is comfortable for your personality and temperament!

No comparisons between how much people liked the pastor’s wife before you. Just love in your own way and your own light.

I’m still learning how to married to a pastor, so feel free go share your life lessons for senior pastors’ wives or “1st Ladies”.

In the meantime, I like this post called “10 things every young pastor’s wife should know” by Kristy at http://www.kristyscottage.com/  It’s a great encouragement and blessing. In fact, the entire blog is. 🙂

Married to a Pastor.com is a blog for pastors wives focused on offering encouragement for a pastor’s wife as well as insight on being a pastor’s wife…from one pastor’s wife to another.