“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ… written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:2-3 NKJV).
Some time ago I asked a group of pastors’ wives what kinds of book they enjoyed reading. Some of their responses included self-help, autobiographies, mysteries, and Christian suspense romance.
While browsing at a local bookstore I ran across a book entitled Everything Men Know About Women. I leafed through it, only to discover that it was filled with blank pages. Sadly, some pastors’ wives feel just that unknown. However, the above passage of Scripture informs us that our very lives are being crafted into a story penned by the Holy Spirit to be read by others. The degree to which we partner with Him determines whether or not our lives are worth reading.
Every good story has four key elements: 1) a beginning 2) exciting part 3) point and 4) ending. Interestingly, so do the lives of pastors’ wives.
BEGINNING
Long before your husband became a pastor, or even before you were born, your life began in the mind of God.
“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made… All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:14a, 16b NIV).
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10 NIV).
If you’re struggling to find your storyline, consult and collaborate with your Creator.
EXCITING PART
Webster defines the word excite as: to rouse, call into action, to stir up, to set in motion, to move to strong emotion, to stimulate.
As I read these definitions I’m reminded of chapters in my life as a pastor’s wife – marrying a minister, raising PKs, my search for significance, moving 3,000 miles away, seasons of being left with too much month at the end of the money, pastoring a small church of 34 members that grew into a congregation of over 7,000 members, losing it all and starting over, etc.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV admonishes us, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfector of our faith…”
Like a good book, the life of a pastors’ wife includes drama, comedy, tragedy, mystery, adventure, romance, and plot twists. The real excitement, however, comes from partnering with the Perfector of our faith.
POINT
Quite simply, the point of our lives is to glorify God.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11 KJV).
“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Westminster Shorter Catechism
ENDING
“Beloved, now are we the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2 KNJV)
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Php. 1:6 NKJV).
The title you wear, whether First Lady or pastor’s wife, should represent Whose you are, not just who you are. You are a work in progress, on your way to becoming a masterpiece. Along the way are exclamation points, commas, question marks, and periods. These are all necessary to punctuate the sentences that tell the story of your life.