I found it rather amusing that several of you are doing the one thing you either swore you wouldn't or couldn't imagine doing back in the day. Funny how life works that way sometimes, isn't it?
One of my dreams, back in high school, was to marry a pastor. This dream was partially driven by my crush-of-the-month, who actually was a pastor, and for me to adequately dream about our life together, obviously I had to be ready to be the proper pastor's wife.
Back then, pastors' wives were supposed to be proficient on the piano, rock at children's ministry and hospitality, and keep an immaculate house to be able to host meetings for ladies at the drop of a hat. Well, I was an eleven-years-of-lessons piano flunkie, but I rather hoped the potential congregations considering my imaginary husband would overlook my lack of talent in that department and appreciate all I could do in other realms.
My senior year of high school, one of our English class assignments involved writing an essay about what we would do with our lives if we were guaranteed we wouldn't fail. My essay was about how I would be a pastor's wife. The best. pastor's. wife. ever.
I still have that essay somewhere, and with a little effort and my trusty binder, I could actually tell you which box it's packed in. But I don't need to look at it to remember this: my teacher gave me an A and scribbled a little note at the bottom that perhaps I should just consider ministry myself.
I remember laughing when I read that. I wasn't minister material. Ridiculous.
But you know what? I think she saw a little something in me I couldn't see in myself. Obviously I've not grown up to be a minister, but I have grown up to do ministry. In dozens of little ways, I've gone on to plant seeds through teaching, through radio, through writing. Things I never imagined myself doing. {And if you'd thrown the speaking part in there, I can guarantee you SHE never would have imagined it either.}
Funny, isn't it, how God ends up using us in ways we never imagined, and in some cases, ways we vowed NOT to be used.
When He's in charge, anything goes. Pretty grand, isn't it?
5 comments:
It is amazing to think where we want to go and where we really do end up!
That was a cool essay assignment that you had in your English class your senior year. My best friend in high school also longed to be a pastor's wife. Being a pastor's wife sounded awful to me. I thought about how differently she and I viewed being (potential) pastor's wives and I concluded that one reason she wanted to be a pastor's wife was that she is an extrovert who loves to be around people and loves to be part of the action. She would make an excellent pastor's wife. I, on the other hand, am an extrovert who enjoys solitude. I would struggle with the social demands/ expectations of being a pastor's wife. Anyway, I'm glad you're doing what you are doing now!!
You are an amazing "minister" to myself as well as many other's, Bekah! I, too, wanted to be a pastor's wife because I thought they would make the "perfect" husband!! Now I think pastor's wives have one of the hardest "jobs" there is and pretty sure I would have struggled!
Tamar - exactly!!!
Maria - Many, many props to pastors' wives today. I think the job is much harder than I EVER knew, and I sure never stopped to consider the sacrifice of time apart and of what happens when people are mad at your husband! I don't think I have to tell you I would not have handled ANY of that well!
Ahhhh Shari, thank you!!! I giggled that pastors would be the perfect husbands. Pretty sure most of their wives would say no to that!!
I'm preaching a sermon this weekend which is the closest I've ever gotten to pastoring -- preaching sermons. It does amaze me though how much I LOVE the mechanics of worship though. I love planning worship, worship leading, and preaching. All the fun parts of pastoring :)
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