PASTOR'S WIFE IS FIRST TO RESPOND

"Just the other day one of our members called me to come over to another lady's home.  The lady who called was 77.  The lady's home that I went to was 73 years 6 months and 8 days.  I found her dead, there was no struggle.  As I grabbed my 77 year old friend and held her in her grief, I paused long enough to pat the now lifeless body of the other lady and tell her how pretty she was to meet Jesus and all would be well.

Only God can put me together enough to be involved like that. The scripture has alot to say about going into the house of one who has died.  To be able to minister as a Pastor's wife in the entire situation, with the several nieces and nephews, sharing stories about how much this one was loved.  We laughed and cried and loved each other for several days.  

God is Good all the time and I have been blessed beyond measure.  Leaving established home, careers, and family back in Texas, we went without knowing, but trusting in the God who is faithful.  We began pastoring small churches in Oklahoma in 1988.  What seems like just yesterday has turned into twenty years.

You know, when He called my husband to pastor, He called me, too.  To stand beside him in this ministry.  To pray for him, to be with him, to encourage him in his work.  I have always taken a very active role in the churches we have been called to serve.  From working with children in Sunday school, to VBS, with couples and singles, special challenged people, missions, women's ministry.  I have been drawn to all and embraced it all.  I take no delight in saying that some of my hardest times have come while working in the Church.  When you have opposition for little or meaningless reasons, it hurts.  Some convictions are so polarizing that the weak or unlearned Christian can misunderstand you and your most profound attempts at reconciliation.  That too, is painful.  Then there's shared events: the new baby, the deathbed conversion, the sick, the rebellious teenager whose parents you have ministered to, the graduations, the birthdays, the anniversaries.  Your own children and new grandchildren, and the congregation who lets you ramble on about how wonderful they are, just one more time.

We have experienced every season of change since we began 20 years ago.  To speak allegorically, from the new growth in Spring, to the long hot Summer you wished would end but would not, to the Fall when it's time to clean up the rubbish that prohibits new growth, then on to Winter when all lay dormant until He chooses to bless again with new Life.  In this we believe that "all things work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose".  And we rest in the scripture for "I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day."  Indeed, I have great hope.  Today, Tomorrow, and into Eternity.  by Kathy Curtis

[Kathy Curtis is a pastor's wife in Duncan, Oklahoma.  She is first to respond to the challenge of sharing something positive about her experiences in the SBC.]

Comments

[selahV]

Kathy, this is the third time I've written this comment and pray others are not having the same problem. Each time I post it, it appears on the site, then immediately disappears. Hopefully this one will show up.

Your post brings back a lot of fond memories for me as a pastor's wife. I have similar experiences with the grieving and know, as you, that only God could give us the power and insight we need in those situations.

Thanks for sharing your heart and ministry with us. I pray God continues to bless you greatly as you serve Him. selahV

[Rose]

Dear Kathy,
What a beautiful picture of being Jesus to others you present. It's obvious how much you love and trust the Lord who called you to serve beside your husband. It blessed me so much to read your story. Thank you for sharing it.

[Karen]

Kathy, you words are so pure and thoughtful. I can see through this messge that you love Christ and the capacity in which you have been called to serve. "How beautiful are the hands and feet that serve the Lord." May you find God's richest blessings as you walk the path He has placed before you.