Actually, the term “Sunday Spouse” is wrong in every aspect. We who are the spouses of ministers understand that all to well. But it is a catchy term if anything, one that will catch the eye and hope be one of immediate recognition to those who I am seeking to read and share. The Sunday Spouse is for all those spouses, men and women, who need a place of refuge, a place where we can come to share where only those who are that spouse day in and day out, can truly understand the difficulties, the hilarities, the joys, the sadness and the outright ridiculous times. I LOVE being the spouse of a minister. There is no other place in this life I would rather be. The honor alone is so humbling. The people you meet, the experiences, just all of it is so incredibly awesome. But, as with anything good, there is the bad. The bad in this case is the loneliness. It can be so overwhelming.
My hopes for this page are that we can grow to know one another and be a support to each other in whatever ways we need. So please share your stories, your hurts, your funniest of times, your hardest of times and your most joyous times. And if I may suggest a great book to read although I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if many of you haven’t already read it…Home to Harmony; by Philip Gulley. Philip Gulley is a quaker minister who shares stories of some of his experiences in caring for a church. The characters are as real as you’ve experienced in your own churches. Here is an excerpt…
It being Easter, I preached on the Resurrection. I told how in the resurrection of Jesus, God rejected our rejection. In the Crucifixion we said no to God, but in the Resurrection God said yes to us. I told them that God covets every lost soul.
“It’s not God’s will that any should perish,” I declared. Then I told of the good shepherd who searched until every sheep was found, of the forgiving father who ran to embrace his straying son.
It was grace-full preaching. I even pounded the pulpit. Twice. Many pulpits have been pounded in the name of hellfire; I thought it was time to pound one in the name of grace.
Fern Hampton sat in the sixth row, her face pruned up. This was not the gospel she had learned as a child. She was not a big believer in grace. As theories go, grace was good, but in reality it lacked satisfaction. Fern was a disciple of retribution. In her opinion, Jesus was a bit too quick to forgive. She wanted God to punish sinners and had strong opinions about with whom He should start.
After worship, I stood at the meetinghouse door greeting people and shaking hands. Men with shirts buttoned to the top, neck fat spilling over their collars. Ladies in flowered dresses, bathed in perfume and heavy with Easter corsages. Children running amongst their tree-truck legs, just as I had when I was their age. Fern Hampton was the last person through. She eyed me up and down for a moment, then asked, “Wherever did you learn such foolishness?”
This is how foreign grace was to her, that when she heard it she mistook it for heresy. There are some people, I am sorry to say, who wouldn’t recognize grace if it stood at their door wearing a name tag.
Really, it is a great book! You’ll laugh, and i promise you will recognize the characters as being someone you know in your church.
I hope to hear from somebody soon!
No comments