Dear Pastor's Wife with Young Children,
Sometimes this life is so hard. I know.
Every life on this side of eternity has its own crosses.
As we embark on Holy Week, I will be praying for you. It is a tough time, a sad time, a beautiful time, a triumphant time. May God bless you, dear sister, during this time and always.
Let's start with some of the crosses I know you bear:
I know you sacrificed some other life before this one so your husband could do this.
I know you moved away from your family and moved to a place with no one to watch your kids when you are sick.
I know you never go home on holidays and miss every single Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter with your extended family.
I know you teach your kids the names of their cousins using photographs.
I know you desperately want to have an Easter dinner for your family but can't figure out how you would cook it between services.
I know when the world is cheering about the weekend, you are just gearing up.
I know you have heard someone say something less than positive about you, your husband, and/or your children at church.
I know you wrestle with little ones in the pew, wondering if sometimes it is all in vain.
I know you are judged if you work outside the home because you should be inside the home and judged if you work inside the home because obviously your husband must be making too much money.
I know someone has judged you based on how little or how much you own.
I know you put your kids to bed by yourself many nights.
I know you shy away from being too close with any particular church members for fear of seeming to play favorites, and therefore, find your life lonely at times.
I know you have met friends outside of church who never hang out again after you answer the question about your husband's profession.
I know tax season sucks. Enough said.
I know you have completely changed vacation plans based on a wedding, a funeral, or a hospitalization.
I know you wonder if your children are going to hate church someday.
I know you struggle with your own sin and wonder to whom you can confess.
I know you see the weight of sin on your husband's shoulders.
I know you fear for your husband's safety at times.
I know.
I know some of these things all too well.
There are some other things I know about you, too.
I know someone has surprised you with a kind gesture, an unexpected gift, or a sweet card.
I know you have been given some sort of awesome food.
I know you beam with pride as your husband speaks God's Word.
I know you have cried while watching your husband baptize a baby, maybe even your own.
I know you have felt joy at a lost sheep who returns.
I know you have watched as people's sins are forgiven, including your own.
I know you plan some amazing traditions for your kids, even if they happen on Easter Monday instead of Sunday.
I know you fill your lives with Christ - family devotions, prayers, hymns, Bible stories.
I know God has provided for every need, many times through the hands of a congregation member.
I know you have had the joy of flexibility in your husband's schedule and gone to the zoo on a weekday to avoid the crowds.
I know God has given you a family right where you are - your church family - to love you and care for you.
I know you have learned so much about Christ's love, repentance, forgiveness, and grace through the people He has given your husband to shepherd.
I know you are watching miracles taking place every day.
Most of all,
I know you are one for whom Christ died.
I know His blood covers every sin you have.
I know you are forgiven.
I know your children are receiving Christ's Gifts every Sunday as they squirm around in the pew.
Let that be your Peace, my friends.
What a wonderful Peace it is - in Holy Week and beyond.
In Christ,
One of you
