Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Marry Pastors

Don't be confused by the title. I absolutely love my husband. However, I find it crucial at times to encourage others to remember that I didn't marry a pastor, I married a man. Granted he was a pastor's son, but he assured me that he was gonna grow up and be something cool like a missionary martyr. I mean, really, I remember clear as day the moment he told me that he intended to give up his life for Christ by the time he was 25. I still married the weirdo. Point is, no one marries a profession, they marry a person. Pastor's wives seem to have it especially hard because no one else seems to believe this.

A pastor's wife has to:

  • cook and decorate like Martha Stewart
  • sing like Aretha
  • love like Mother Theresa

and that's just what the congregation expects. Add on to that:

  • kids who behave like the Duggars
  • the wardrobe of a queen ( I was gonna say a celebrity, but queens have to dress modestly, they are never allowed to be caught in a mini skirt or tight pants)

My husband is called to minister to the church, I'm called to minister to the man. Ya see, if I don't do my job well, you won't get a very good pastor. The phone calls he picks up at 3 am?They wake me up too. The emergency trip to visit someone at the hospital? Family time lost. That outfit he wears on Sunday? I washed, dried, and hung it up in the closet. The smile on his face, yeah that's me too. No one else gets the responsibility or joy of cheering him on, being the one person he looks to in the crowd to make sure his sermon is hitting home and making sense. Geez, this is a tough job.

You may think its horrible that I'm not volunteering for nursery, or leading a women's ministry, or attending every event imaginable in the church, but my first ministry is to the man who leads the people. No one else can fill that position. So, mama, don't raise your daughter to marry a pastor, or a soldier, or a firefighter, (insert any job description here). I warn you. Train her to be a wife to a man, then the rest will all fall into place.

Comments

Lisa N. said…
Good thoughts, Amber. So true.
Awesome...Love it! and I even sang the song in my head by Willie Nelson :)

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