Below are a few pieces of advice from the ministry wives at last Thursday's meeting, along with the poem from Ruth Graham Bell.
Pray for those who present challenges to your ministry
Be responsible for your own spiritual growth. Don’t leave it up to your husband
Be real in ministry. It allows others to connect with you.
Allow your husband to “come home” to a place where he doesn’t have to be a “pastor.”
Learn to say, “no.”
Be yourself, not what others expect of you.
Don’t try to step into the shoes of the previous pastor’s wife.
Whether you’re working in or outside the home, you won’t have as much time with the congregation as your husband, so seek out opportunities to get to know them.
Learn to minister as a family, especially with your children.
A reminder for you and your children: God hasn’t just called “dad” to this place of ministry. He’s called all of us and has a special place for each of us while we’re here.
Be your husband’s biggest fan. No one else will see and know all the hard work he does.
Love without clinging:
cry
if you must –
but privately cry:
the heart will adjust
to the newness of loving
in practical ways:
cleaning
and cooking
and sorting out clothes,
all say, “I love you,”
when lovingly done.
So –
love
without clinging
cry –
if you must –
but privately cry:
the heart will adjust
to the length of his stride,
the song he is singing,
the trail he must ride,
the tensions that make him
the man that he is,
the world he must face,
the life that is his.
So
love without clinging:
cry –
if you must –
but privately cry:
the heart will adjust
to being the heart,
not the forefront of life:
a part of himself,
not the object _
his wife.
So –
love!
Sitting by My Laughing Fire, Ruth Bell Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 2006.
