Today our church ordained Bro. Brian Jackson to the pastorate. I was given the special privilege of presenting a Bible to his wife, Rachel. It was a special blessing to get to this. Following is a script of what I said to her before giving her the Bible:
Rachel, special, young, friend ........what a privilege.......to bestow my blessings on you on this special day! You are someone whom who I have grown to love very dearly and who will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s been a blessing to see God work in your and Bro. Brian’s life.
As a young girl, I asked the Lord to let me marry a preacher.....He did! Some would have called me naive; some of my own family have said to me, “I guess you live a really hard, life, don’t you? As a matter of fact, you will get that a lot when you tell people you are a Pastor’s wife.
I will admit that there are difficult times, and it is not all “hunky dory”. There are times when you may be misunderstood, criticized, lonely, poor (in the world’s eyes), over-worked, because even though you are not to be the pastor’s assistant, you will find yourself doing many different things, just because......
Yes, you may have to wear many different hats, have may job titles, and yes, your goal is to train, encourage and instill a love in others to do these things, but guess what..... when no one else wants to do them, you get to do them!!!!!! The negative list could go on and on, but you cannot dwell on those things.......you have to think about all the wonderful things that go with the territory......time or paper would not permit all the wonderful blessings that come with being the Pastor’s wife. The good thing is, as I have heard it said, the only thing you have to be is the Pastor’s wife!.
My single, most important bit of advice I could give to you however is to stay close to God by staying in His Word. That is your life-line. People will come to you for advice for answers and guidance. You will need to know how to get these answers for yourself before you can give them to others. The only place you can get these answers is from the Word of God. Make it a number one priority in your life. Don’t let a day pass without getting in God’s precious Word. It’s there you will find acceptance, when you are misunderstood, it’s there you will find, strength, peace, joy, contentment, and riches, (Ro 11:33 ¶ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ) It is there you will find that “Friend that sticketh closer than a brother It is thee that you will find all the answers to the questions you and others may have.
I once heard a preacher say that if he ever came into the room and something was laying on top of the Bible, he would get it off. So don’t every let anything lay on the Bible, especially dust!!!!
The Bible says in Ps. 138:2, “...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” As the Lord Himself has magnified His word, so must we.
So, Rachel, as we present this Bible to you,
May always the Bible be precious to you,
For in it’s pages are promises true.
When tossed and turned with life’s troubles and cares,
Always remember God’s Word is there.
The world may lend you success and pleasure,
Always remember this eternal treasure.
Written by Lonnie Moore
