Misconception #1
You have it all together. You’ve worked through all your issues. Sure, you may struggle, but not with anything major (whatever that may be).
Oh, sister, may I encourage you? On this side of heaven, we will always have battle to do with our flesh. Will he give relief at times? Yes! But “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). We are off the hook—not to sin so that grace may abound—but to freely live a life pleasing to God that was bought by the perfect blood of Christ, not our own blood, sweat and tears to “get it right.”
Three years into Matt’s position as pastor of The Village Church, I entered a 12-step program. Let me quell the questions: It wasn’t because he became a pastor that I “worked the steps.” I needed to recover from the addiction of being a good girl, of performing my way into God’s good graces. I would have said with my lips that salvation is by grace through faith alone. I even thought I believed this at my core. But in my heart of hearts, I functioned as if it all depended on me. With my life, I said, “God, thanks for saving me but I’ve got it from here.”
On a Thursday night, in front of people who only knew me as their pastor’s wife, I stood up with others to say, “There’s something the Lord is asking me to surrender.” The weight of what people would think of me nearly glued me to my seat, preventing me from standing.
But guess what I felt the moment I rose to my feet? Weightlessness. Relief. And tears. Lots and lots of tears. In all my worry about what the people of The Village would think of me—the gasps I imagined, the whispers—what I found instead was fellowship. I wasn’t the untouchable and unrelatable. I became real to them.
Really in need of a real Savior.
Misconception #2
Your gifting should match your husband’s.Although you and your husband are one flesh, you are not the same person. The way God made you is different than how he made your husband. God knew what he was doing in putting the two of you together. He doesn’t make mistakes.
By God’s grace, be the best “you” you can be. Do you enjoy hosting people in your home? Do you love to teach? Do you come alive when you just get to sit across from another woman pouring out her heart?
Matt is an exceptional preacher and teacher. I have received and accepted multiple invitations to speak and teach, but it is not a burning desire within me. I find myself saying “no” more often than “yes.” To lead worship, on the other hand, is something I eagerly desire to do. It excites me to lead 500 people in song. Matt loves to sing, but, trust me, you don’t want him leading worship in song.
I am not him and he is not me, praise Jesus.
...what do you think? I'll share the last 3 in the next post.
Source:
* By Lauren Chandler
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/268855-5-misconceptions-about-pastors-wives.html?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
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