TheWRITEaddiction.com

This week’s challenge is to write about something I thought I’d never do.  Well, growing up, I always thought and said, “I would NEVER marry a preacher!”  I never wanted to be a preacher’s wife because I saw the “traditional” roles they usually carry out.  I didn’t like big hats.  I didn’t like wearing “stuffy suits”.  I didn’t like playing the piano.  I didn’t really like singing and definitely not solos.  I didn’t like being the center of attention.  I didn’t like having to talk to everyone.  So yeah, you can see I had a lot of “issues” with the role I thought was a preacher’s wife role.

I remember emphatically telling my dad in high school that I would never marry a preacher.  He calmly told me, “Never say never.  You never know what may happen…”  Of course I laughed and went on to the next subject.  Fast forward many years later, and I found myself marrying a preacher.  He was a preacher on staff at a church when we met so there was no getting around being involved in ministry.  Of course, I was somewhat used to it because my dad had always been on staff at churches while I was growing up.  So I ended up marrying a preacher who turned into a pastor and fifteen years later, I’m still married to a pastor.

I don’t regret my decision at all and I’ve learned being a pastor’s wife is NOT about fulfilling a “traditional” role.  It’s simply about being my husband’s help meet as any Godly wife will do.  It’s about singing if he needs me to, or picking the kids up from school.  It’s about writing books and encouraging him in his pursuits.  It’s about being myself which doesn’t include wearing hats and definitely not playing the piano.  It’s about having one-on-one conversations with those who need help and seeing the rewards of serving others.  It’s about living a full life complete with finding myself and embracing who I am—which is not just a pastor’s wife, but all the roles that I happily juggle.

If I could encourage you to find yourself, it would be find out who God created YOU to be.  Embrace and own that person.  As my dad told me many years ago, “never say never” and be open to who and what the Lord has for you.  It may come in many different forms so don’t miss a blessing because the wrapping is different from what you expected.

~Coletta Jones Patterson