Called?

At a recent event for ministers' wives for our local association I was blessed as I got to know one of our more "senior" attendees.

Her pastor husband is now officially retired, but is still very actively serving one of our churches here in Montgomery County. She is still faithfully serving by his side over 50 years after she became his bride.

I soaked up my time with Mrs. Ann and eagerly accepted her Facebook Friend request she sent me that night when I got home. I listened attentively to her experiences and wisdom from serving so long in so many places but I was most fascinated with the story of her "calling" and the night she met the man who would be her husband.

Ms. Ann very vividly remembers feeling "called" by God to be a preacher's wife. She was so certain of it that when a certain young man approached her, asking for permission to take her on a date, she told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to know that she was to marry a pastor. This young man shared that though he was employed as a teacher that God had his heart and that He too had a "calling." He was "called" to pastor.

Maybe like Ms. Ann, you knew from a young age that you were "called" to be a minister's wife. Maybe like me, you knew you had a God-given passion for ministry and while you weren't sure what that looked like, you were "called" to share that with your spouse.

I know another minister's wife who is adamant about the fact that she was never "called." He was. She has been very vocal in the past that she didn't sign up for this. The stability and income that he had before is sorely missed and the microscope she and her kids have been put under is greatly resented.

Maybe you once felt "called," but after all you've been through you find yourself doubting if you heard God right.

Regardless of how you got here, here you are.

You are a minister's wife- whether you were "called" or not.

Despite your path here, your memories of a "calling," or your current feelings, our Soveirgn God has allowed you this label of "minister's wife."

But before all that, you were made His.

He "called" you. He made you His. You were bought at a very high and costly price. You are no longer your own. That is the greatest label you can wear. You are first and foremost a Christ follower.

You are SO much more than a minister's wife. You were "called" to so much more.