This is for some of you Minister’s Wives whose husbands stay on the road and you are left behind….
Being a Minister’s wife is not an easy job. But then, nothing in life really is. And I believe it all depends on how we look at life and what we focus on.
Let me introduce myself….
A few years ago I was just “little ole me” – a widow in a run-down section of a town that was once a beautiful neighborhood. After my husband’s death I remained in the house which was our home – our children were grown and gone and I was by myself. Monday thru Friday I went to work and on weekends I found my joy in visiting my grandchildren and spending time with them.
Sunday church going had become a “religious” duty for me and I was pretty much disenchanted with life.
When I finally came to the realization that there had to be more to life than what I experienced, I started seeking the Lord. And when He says “Seek and ye shall find” He really means it. I FOUND THE LORD! But the beauty of it was that He was seeking me more that I sought Him.
This brought a whole new twist in my life. All I wanted to do now was to be with HIM. I could not wait to get home from work and away from the noise of the world around me and to meet with Him and to hear His voice. Nothing else mattered any more. My one desire was (and is) to worship Him… To worship Him was (and is) my reason for living. I now wanted to know what He had to say in the Bible – I wanted to meet with Him and know what His will/desire was for me. I now could not wait to go to Sunday services and watch His Word come to life … the book of Acts was now activated again and Jesus was the same now as He was then. Talk about excitement! Talk about the joy of spending time alone with Him and Him meeting with me and telling me that He truly loves me – and when the enemy attacked me He told me through His Word: “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And did He ever – I could not have done it by myself. Some day the Lord may give me the opportunity to tell you in more detail about this situation.
I had become content with living with Him and well satisfied. But it seemed that God had another plan. He had so drawn me into Himself that no matter what His plan was, I was going to follow Him. And so it was that He drew me away from my grandchildren and required me to retire from my job and move into a strange territory – after living in the same town and the same house for 40 years!
Little did I know that His plan included a husband for me – one with “skin” in human form. You see, God already had become my husband and I was so satisfied and happy with Him and did not look left or right. I only looked vertically and not horizontally.
To make a long story short, I got married. I don’t need to tell you that no matter how happy we may be to be married – after over 11 years of being a widow and on my own it took me some adjustment. I had to change some of my ways and accept my husband’s ways as well.
Whose idea was that? Who said that we are to submit to our husbands? Especially when my new husband travels 80% of the year! I am fortunate enough that I am able to accompany him and minister with him and see God do miraculous works.
I realize also that many of you may not have that luxury – may be children at home, or taking care of a parent or grand parent… No matter what, God has His hand on you and He has a wonderful plan for you even so you may consider yourself “just” a homemaker or whatever else.
If your husband is one that God has called to travel a lot, consider what David said in 1 Samuel 30:24 – “… We share and share alike-those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment." (TLB) I realize that children/people are not equipment, but nevertheless it is in God’s plan that they be guarded and taken care of. So rejoice, the credit of your husband’s ministry is yours as well.
This may just be the season for you to do warfare and drive away the enemies and pray in the Kingdom of Heaven and take ownership in the fruit that is the result of it. Hallelujah!
There are times, even so they are very seldom, that my husband may go by himself and I am left behind. That is when I just kick back and hang out with Jesus…
-Friede Taylor
Welcome to the Minister's Wives Club