Free To Be You

Today, my wife has plans go going and hanging out with a lady from our church fellowship. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is for us. My wife is a stay-at-home mom of 3 and has to put up with me on a constant basis (no comments, please). The opportunities to reach out and build meaningful relationships have not been the easiest over the past couple of years. It is for this reason that I am grateful for this opportunity for my wife today.

This got me thinking about what a minister’s wife who is also a mother sometimes goes through.

Because the husband/minister is out trying to do his “job”, the opportunities for the wife/mother to get adult interaction is sometimes limited. She spends so much time caring for the children so that her husband can carry out his responsibilities effectively.

She is helping to encourage her husband and children so much that sometimes she puts her dreams on the shelf. The bad part is that that shelf is a slippery one, and those dreams can easily slide off into the garbage can.

Being the First Lady of the church, sometimes people come to her expecting her to know all that’s going on in the church, or she is seen as the “in-road” to the pastor. It is important to remember that she is an individual. Sure, she is her husband’s mate, but she is still an individual who has a specific calling on her life. I try to keep many of the “details” of church life from my wife so to keep her free to be herself and not my extension.

I encourage you to reach out to the ministry wives in your church. They are in need of many of the same things that we need (friends, free time, hobbies, etc). Don’t assume that they have it all together. They need the opportunity once in a while to simply be free to be themselves. They are individuals created by a loving Creator with unique gifts and abilities. The church, their families, the communities in which they live will be a better place if we allow these ladies to be all that Christ has called them to be.