“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair
and
when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard
and by
mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running
and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad
day.”
- Judith Viorst, Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
This morning my husband & I were talking about the picture I posted yesterday. The one where he looks... er... not so... uh... good. It was taken at Josh & Kristen's little engagement get-together last year. He had a really bad cold & was fighting the urge to crawl back into bed. However, he loves our kids & didn't want to miss out so, he put on a brave face & celebrated with us.
It stimulated an interesting conversation though this morning. It feels like as a pastor & pastor's wife, you really can't have a bad day. At any sign of sadness or fatigue, people begin to ask, "What's up with pastor?" or "He's certainly not himself today."
People count on us to be the encouragers. We get that. & it's our desire to be that for our church family. It's what we feel called to do.
But, to be fair, it's hard to be up all the time & quite frankly, neither my husband or I are good at hiding our feelings. Instead, we wear them right out there in public. If we are tired or crabby, sad or burdened, you will know.
Here's how you can help us...
Begin to pray about how you can minister to those that sit beside you on Sunday mornings.
"In some situations, you are more capable of empathizing and encouraging fellow believers because you have experienced challenges similar to theirs...The church is a community. We must all become part of a "network of shoulders" supporting the collective weight of our fellowship's troubles. In other words, you get under a sister's burden while a brother takes on a bit of yours. Your contribution might seem small and go unnoticed by all but the individual who is helped. Yet your heavenly Father sees and will reward you for following His command.When you take your seat in a Sunday service or mid-week Bible study, keep your spiritual antennae up. Allow God to direct you to those who are burdened. With you acting as Christ's hands, people will find rest for their weary hearts." -InTouch Ministries
It all boils down to this people... While we understand that my husband is the 'paid professional', we also understand that we can't do it alone...
We are ALL in this thing together.
Love
from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.
Run for dear life from
evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Be good friends who love deeply;
practice playing second fiddle.
Don’t
burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.
Be alert servants of the
Master, cheerfully expectant.
Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the
harder.
Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
-Romans 12:9-13 (the Message)
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