What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Friday, August 1, 2014

The Waiting Is Finally Over -Random Journal Day

Dear Friends, Today is the first Friday of the month, and for a group of fellow bloggers and myself, it is also known as "Random Journal Day". The idea is to grab an old journal off the shelf and randomly choose a journal entry to share with the world...if you dare! (Click here to see what others are sharing) Well, I seem to have run out of appropriate journal entries to share, but I have started writing the story of our life in the ministry from beginning to end...and it is a kind of journal of the early years of our call to the ministry and some of the more interesting moments that I "dare" to share with the world. So, grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back, and take a journey back in the time machine with me to the year 1977, when my husband was called to his very first church as a pastor...and I was called to become that curious person known as "The Pastor's Wife". I hope you'll enjoy this little excursion into the past with me...

The Waiting is Finally Over   (August, 1977)


Isaiah 30:18   “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

Finally the day came when the District Superintendent called John on the phone and told him that he had a small church that wanted to hear him speak.  However, it was several hours south of us, in a very retired community.  Of course we leaped at the opportunity! This was what we had been waiting for!  So we went down for a weekend to meet the people and “candidate” for the position of pastor.  Did I mention that it was August…and very hot and humid?  Well, it was…and the people with whom we were to spend the night did not have on their air conditioning.  They had an air-conditioner; they just didn’t have it turned on!  Our baby Scott was just about six months old, and we took along a plastic-sided port-a-crib for him to sleep in.  That poor baby was just ringing wet with perspiration all night long in that hot little bed in that very hot little room. We had the windows open, but unfortunately with the humidity it didn’t help at all.  Not to mention the fact that the house sat right next door to a bowling alley, which was also not far from the railroad tracks!  So you can just imagine what kind of night we spent! Every few minutes we could hear the loud crashing of the pins in the bowling alley, only to be followed by the whistle of the train as it roared by, and then the poor hot baby crying in his bed and us trying to sleep so John could preach a powerful sermon the next day!  Talk about testing!   I don’t think this test came from God…I’m quite sure it was Satan himself trying to keep us from succeeding in this idea of preaching the Gospel! 

Morning came all too early, and as we tried to put on our very hot suits, ties, and panty hose, dress, etc., the lady of the house came in and said, “Oh, you can turn on that air conditioner in your room if you want!”   Thank you very much…why couldn’t she have told us that last night?????

So you can imagine what frame of mind we were in when we headed over to the church that morning to meet and greet all the people and put our best foot forward so they would invite us to come back and be their new minister and family! There was a lot on the line for this very tired, hot, cranky family that day!  Our two older boys were all spiffed up in their little suits and ties, and the baby was cooled down with his bath and dressed up in the cutest outfit I could find for a bouncing baby boy of six months.  I was dressed just as perfectly as I could possibly muster after dressing and feeding the boys and making sure that John had his tie on straight and his shirt and suit coat not too wrinkled.  And since I was still nursing the baby, I had to make sure that he was well fed before we got to church so he wouldn’t start demanding more food in the middle of the service!  Yes, the pressure was definitely on!!  There was no time to pray!  I had to whisper a few hurried prayers to the Lord that morning like, “Help!” and, “Lord, please help the boys to behave and the baby not to cry and help John remember his sermon!” 

I wish I could remember what John preached that day…I haven’t got a clue…but whatever it was, they said they liked it as they filed past us, shaking our hands at the close of the service! But then came the real test! THE INTERVIEW!  After lunch the church governing board took John for an interview, and the “bored wives” decided to do a little interviewing of their own, of ME!  I hadn’t bargained for that!  I mean, after all, John is the one they are hiring! What could they possibly want to know about me? 

I was asked if I could play the piano.  I responded that I could not, having never taken lessons.  The woman asking the question was astounded and she replied, “Why! Our Pastor’s Wives have ALWAYS played the piano!”   I said I thought they would get a little tired of singing “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Chopsticks”, the only songs I could play! (I was thinking to myself “Can you imagine trying to sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” to the tune of ‘Chopsticks’? Now THAT would be funny!”) A little perturbed, she went on to her next question.  She said, “Well, of course you WILL be the President of our Women’s Missionary Prayer Fellowship!  Our Pastor’s Wives have ALWAYS been the President!”  Not wanting to be a total disappointment to these dear ladies,  (and not wanting to lose the job for my husband if I didn’t meet their approval) I told them I’d try...but it would be kind of hard to be the President of an organization that I had only visited once or twice!   After all, I had a new baby and two other active youngsters, and hadn’t had much time to attend meetings! 

Believe it or not, we still were called to serve that church, and during the installation service
Anointed for Service in the Kingdom, 1977
I found out what my REAL job was going to be as a pastor’s wife!  During the prayer of installation, the dear District Superintendent who was praying for us laid his hand on my shoulder and prayed, “and dear Lord, please help Pam to be a “real Mother” to these ladies of this congregation!”  I almost couldn’t control the giggles that were welling up inside of me at that point...you see, our congregation was made up of people who were, in the main, at least as old as my own grandparents!  Following the service, one of the sweet elderly ladies came up to shake my hand and lovingly looked into my eyes and said, “Hi, Mom!”  I knew then that I would love being “Mom” to these ladies, and many others afterwards in different places, and of all ages!

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”      (Hebrews 12:1-2)


Oh Lord, help me to be the woman of influence that you desire me to be.  Help my influence be one that leads others to You.  Help me to “keep on keeping on”, even when my feet are tired of running the race.   Give me the strength that only You can provide.  Give me the desire to be a “real Mother” to the women that you bring into my path each day.  They are YOUR children, and I am YOUR servant here to lead them to YOU.    I will consider You, “who endured such hostility from sinners against [Yourself], lest I become weary and discouraged in  [my] soul.”   (Hebrews 12:3)  Thank You Lord, for not giving up on me.  Amen.
Rev. and Mrs. John F. Steiner, Pastor and Wife, 1977
Gee, we sure were young. Sigh...where did all the years go?

10 comments:

  1. What a great story! I'm not a pastor's wife or a pastor, but I have served in quite a few ministry positions along the way and oh, those dear elders who love to tell us how "it's always been done." I imagine I reacted with a good bit of frustration when I was younger, but the Lord opened my eyes by showing me how some other women my age appeared when they got angry with the older ladies. I learned quickly that a lot of respect and a little bit of deferring to their years of experience went a long way. While they looked to me for leadership, I looked to them for support, encouragement...and maybe a grandmotherly hug or two.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I totally agree. The woman doing all the questioning became a kind of nemesis to me in my early days as a Pastor's Wife at that church, but when I wanted to start a neighborhood Bible study with the unchurched women of our community, she volunteered to babysit the children, and became one of my staunchest allies! I learned a lot from her in the process. God has ways of working things out if we just take the time to listen and learn. Thank you for your thoughts today.

      Delete
  2. Pamela- I really enjoyed this...I laughed out loud at the piano question and your thoughts...I also was encouraged that I can be a "mom" to others even if my babies are growing up (26 and 24 years old this year)...I can still be a mother no matter what season I'm in...thanks for sharing your story and I love your humor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I've laughed over that so many times throughout the years, especially when anyone else asks me if I play the piano...most everyone I know has had to hear this story. And yes, I'm still playing the part of "mother" to my two adult sons who still live at home (back and forth many times) and to all the "younger" staff members at the church where I currently work as the Business Administrator. Even the youth pastor, assoc. pastor, etc., kind of look to me for "motherly" wisdom from an "old pastor's wife". LOL "And the beat goes on..."

      Delete
  3. Oh Pam, sooo many expectation of Pastors' wives. I've heard these stories over and over. It's funny how we think we 'own' our pastors and their families as we own no one else in the body. I know your kindness and faithfulness won the day with many who had those expectations. God knows we all need each other. Imagine if there really was only ONE kind of pastor and pastor's wife. You might as well just have mannequins. That makes me laugh. God knew who they needed. And who YOU needed. Right?
    I've been reading your posts on my iPad on my travels but haven't been able to comment. Glad you're posting. I continue to pray for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh sweet "jeskmom", I am so happy to hear from you...and glad to know you are having a good, even if busy, summer. Thank you for your thoughts...yes, I could tell you so many stories as we didn't stop at just one church, but went on to many many more...each with their own new expectations for us to attempt to meet. Didn't always work, because I just gotta be me! LOL! Praise God for people with more patience and love than unrealistic expectations!
      Enjoy the rest of your summer!!!

      Delete
  4. Oh, Pam! What a great journal share! ANd those "vintage" lol pictures! They were lucky to have you as mom, I bet you blessed as you continue to even now. You are a pillar of grace. So I guess you revolutionized the role of the Pastor's Wives going forward! Thanks for sharing these past glimpses in your life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Dawn...yes, very "vintage" pictures. 37 years ago exactly! Wow! Where did the time fly? I had so much to learn about being "mom"...even to my own 3 kids, let alone to a church full of people much more mature than I! I'd say they were the pillars of grace...but then again, you are right, I did learn to exercise grace back then and had to keep re-learning as we moved on from there. Each new place was a new lesson for me. Trust me. There were many challenges to my "grace". LOL

      Delete
  5. Pam:
    I enjoyed reading this post. We of the laity don't always realize how harsh and unyielding we can be. Please forgive us for seeming insensitive. There is no mould for the clergy family. Ithas taken me a long time to learn this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Cecilia. I had so much to learn as a new pastor's wife at that time...and I found out that the expectations were different every new place we went. But God gave me the strength to be what HE needed me to be...and helped others to learn to accept me "Just as I am" without one plea! It was a learning process for all of us. Thank you for your kind thoughts today.

      Delete

Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.