While everyone is giving thanks and counting their blessings, I’d like to share one of mine.
I’m a minister’s wife, and I love it.
I do!
Sure, my family and I live in a fish bowl, go through ridiculously busy seasons, see the dark side of people, suffer separation, make less money than some folks our age, and deal with critics, but there are also plenty of perks that come with the job.
Here are my favorite five:
1. Bible study is part of my husband’s job. God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void (Isa. 55:11), and my husband gets a healthy, regular dose, which can only mean good things for the kids and for me.
2. My kids and I get to participate in his work. We may not always want to, but we get to whenever we do. As long as we respect professional boundaries, our presence is not only accepted, but encouraged and appreciated.
3. It gives me an ‘in’ to share the Gospel and minister to people. They just expect it from a minister’s wife, so there’s not a lot of awkwardness once they know my affiliation. I can jump right in, and they don’t even flinch.
4. We are held accountable. Someone’s always watching. When I don’t feel like making the right choice for myself and am tempted to give in and fall back on God’s mercy and grace, just knowing that my actions could trip others up always gives me the push I need to stay on track. In fact, I shudder to think where I might be without the watchers.
5. We get a front row seat to what God is doing. Not just in our lives, but in the lives of those around us and in the lives of those around them. The testimonies we hear of God’s faithfulness are more exciting than floor seats at a Thunder game, more encouraging than feel-good flicks, and more energizing than Arbonne fizz sticks, exponentially so!
Listen, celebrities and politicians live in a fish bowl. Public accountants and retail people go through ridiculously busy seasons. Doctors, counselors, and law enforcement agents see the dark side of people. Soldiers and pilots suffer separation from their families. Teachers hold their breath until payday sometimes, and every coach that’s ever lived has dealt with their share of critics.
But none of these vocations boast in completion the particular set of perks that my family enjoys.
Now, I won’t pretend there haven’t been moments when my husband and I seriously considered getting out, but I’m so glad now that we didn’t.
All things considered, I’d have to say that being a minister’s wife is a pretty great gig!