How I Maintain My Identity While Being A Millennial Pastor’s Wife

 

Being married to a man in ministry is simultaneously a challenge and a privilege, but from the first day that my husband shared with me that he would be pastoring a church, I knew that I would not be the “typical” pastor’s wife. My first thoughts were, “Wayment, that’s your calling and not mine”(lol) because I was not a teacher and surely was not a Bible scholar, but I’m thankful for our church who has never pressured me to be anything more than a wife and mother.

The calling to be a Pastor’s wife is a difficult calling and while I count it a privilege to be married to a man in ministry it comes with many challenges and especially identity challenges. There are so many pressures that are put upon you to be a certain kind of person and to look a certain kind of way. It’s life under a microscope for the most part and when you are in the midst of this kind of scrutiny it’s so easy to lose focus on who you really are because you start to think of yourself as a title and not a person. You live out the role rather than being authentic. It’s like you want everything perfect because if not it will reflect and look bad on the Pastor and yourself as being his wife.

So what do you do?

I maintain my identity by constantly reminding myself that I am human. I have fears, weaknesses, shortcomings, insecurities, struggles, I deal with anxiety, I get scared and overwhelmed. I don’t have it all together and I battle the very same issues as every other woman: stress, marriage issues, keeping my house clean issues, and trying to get my children to bed on time struggles.

I’m not perfect, but I am enough!

Read the caption in the pic below.

It has taken me a couple of years to adjust to my life as a pastor’s wife, simply because it was not something on my to-do list! I share very little about this part of my life with anyone, because I have found it makes people feel uncomfortable like they can’t be themselves around me (I hate that because I’m FAR from perfect). I need to pray more, my kids eat chocolate for breakfast, and I seriously do not have it together, plus I want my husband’s sermons to be super short and sweet like any other member.. This week on the blog I will talk about this part of my life! Be sure to tune in and click the link so you do not miss this post!! . . . Happy Pastor’s Anniversary to my husband for 5 years in ministry! I’m proud of you ??

A post shared by Chasi?Tupelo Blogger (@chasijernigan) on Oct 10, 2017 at 6:59am PDT

Our church hosted our very first Pastor’s appreciation and everything was so beautiful including this absolutely gorgeous Lace Evening Dress with Pleated Skirt courtesy of Eloquii. The feminine flow was elegant and flattering to my figure. The texture contrast of the lace and pleats added a modern-vintage twist to this beauty.

If you want to shop my look or any other fashionable pieces click here and use the coupon code CHASI for 50% off your first item and 40% off the rest.

 

Chasi