My story
Some of you who know me have heard this story time and time again but for those who don't know me or my story here it is.
I grew up in Tennessee all my life. My husband and I were both born and raised there and we thought we would always be there. I was a stay at home mom of a 4 year old and a 3 month old and my hubby worked as a welder and honestly we were happy.....or so I thought. In early November of 2006 I felt like the Lord was weighing heavy on my heart but I was not going to listen. At the same time my hubby had the same time my hubby was struggling with how to tell me his call to the ministry had become overwhelmingly greater.
(a little background: My husband felt the call to the ministry at age 17 but pushed it away went to college and began racing late model stock cars. When we were dating he shared that thought with me and I told him he had the wrong girl if he was looking for a preacher's wife. So we both went on about our lives until....)
While standing in morning service that morning, we sang Rescue and I felt the tears start to roll down my face and the Lord really telling me to listen to him. And listen, and listen. A few weeks later I felt something so strong I couldn't hold it back any longer. I was talking to our pastor and said, "I feel like Travis is being called to the ministry but I am not being a pastor's wife." He said, "If he is called to be a pastor then you are called to be a pastor's wife, no discussion about it." So after many nights of praying I told Travis what happened and I was amazed by his response. He said he had been feeling the call so strongly lately but he didn't know how to tell me since I didn't want to be in the ministry. We both began to pray together about and 2 weeks later we were looking on line at seminaries. We filled out the forms for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in November and waited to hear something.
In Jan. we found out we had been accepted. So a week later our house went on the market and we began packing. We figured we would have some time to slowly pack. We had decided that he wouldn't start school until the fall but we would have to move in late June since Isabella would be starting Kindergarten and it was year round and started July 7. It took awhile but our house finally sold and on May 11, 2007 we closed and officially moved in with my parents. We stayed there until June 29 when we packed up a 24' Uhaul and headed to Wake Forest. Our first adventure in the ministry had began.
In December 2007 Travis became the Associate Pastor for Mt. Hermon Baptist Church in Durham. It was our first real calling. (to a church) What a blessing Mt. Hermon was in our lives. They accepted us like family and made us their family. The following August we bought our home in Youngsville, NC which was a dream come true. It was the house we had dreamt of for a long time. However, in Oct. 2009 we really felt that God was bringing us to a crossroads in our ministry. We felt like we had given Mt. Hermon everything we had to offer and that God was leading us away from there. So again we began to pray steadfastly. In November we were asked to supply preach for a church in the middle of no where, NC. We came up supply preached and went home. I was in awe of how simple the way of life was and how laid back it was, it really was nice. Then we got a call from that church and they wanted to talk to Travis about the position they had open. So on Nov. 28, 2009 Potecasi Baptist Church called Travis to be the senior pastor.
This became an exciting time in our lives but also a super scary time in our lives. I began to wrestle with God and where he was trying to put us. I first told, (notice I said told) God that Isabella had a great school and we would not go anywhere else. (I said I would NEVER home school) Well God showed me he is in control and put us in a play where the public school is NOT and option and we knew nothing about the private schools so I would be forced to home school for a bit. (oh my word) Then I told God that we had a wonderful home we would have to sell before we could move. I mean we couldn't buy a house when we already had one. Literally the next morning one of the deacons called and said they had a 4 bedroom 2 bath parsonage they would like to offer for us to live in. (I mean really!) Every time I tried to close a door the Lord would show me he was in control and he would swing the doors wide open. So after much soul searching and praying I conceded to God and away we went.
We have been here for almost 10 months and for the most part those have been 10 good months. We home schooled for 6 months and then found a private school that was a good fit for Isabella. We still have our home on the market and so far not much activity but we are placing it in the Lord's hands. Travis still drives to school one day a week (but the end is near 2 semesters to go!!!!). And as for me.....well I do what I can as a pastor's wife. I still have so many struggles. So this is my journey, it has been a rocky one and often scary but it is mine and it is in God's hands. So follow me as I am candid in all that I say and all that I do.
I grew up in Tennessee all my life. My husband and I were both born and raised there and we thought we would always be there. I was a stay at home mom of a 4 year old and a 3 month old and my hubby worked as a welder and honestly we were happy.....or so I thought. In early November of 2006 I felt like the Lord was weighing heavy on my heart but I was not going to listen. At the same time my hubby had the same time my hubby was struggling with how to tell me his call to the ministry had become overwhelmingly greater.
(a little background: My husband felt the call to the ministry at age 17 but pushed it away went to college and began racing late model stock cars. When we were dating he shared that thought with me and I told him he had the wrong girl if he was looking for a preacher's wife. So we both went on about our lives until....)
While standing in morning service that morning, we sang Rescue and I felt the tears start to roll down my face and the Lord really telling me to listen to him. And listen, and listen. A few weeks later I felt something so strong I couldn't hold it back any longer. I was talking to our pastor and said, "I feel like Travis is being called to the ministry but I am not being a pastor's wife." He said, "If he is called to be a pastor then you are called to be a pastor's wife, no discussion about it." So after many nights of praying I told Travis what happened and I was amazed by his response. He said he had been feeling the call so strongly lately but he didn't know how to tell me since I didn't want to be in the ministry. We both began to pray together about and 2 weeks later we were looking on line at seminaries. We filled out the forms for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in November and waited to hear something.
In Jan. we found out we had been accepted. So a week later our house went on the market and we began packing. We figured we would have some time to slowly pack. We had decided that he wouldn't start school until the fall but we would have to move in late June since Isabella would be starting Kindergarten and it was year round and started July 7. It took awhile but our house finally sold and on May 11, 2007 we closed and officially moved in with my parents. We stayed there until June 29 when we packed up a 24' Uhaul and headed to Wake Forest. Our first adventure in the ministry had began.
In December 2007 Travis became the Associate Pastor for Mt. Hermon Baptist Church in Durham. It was our first real calling. (to a church) What a blessing Mt. Hermon was in our lives. They accepted us like family and made us their family. The following August we bought our home in Youngsville, NC which was a dream come true. It was the house we had dreamt of for a long time. However, in Oct. 2009 we really felt that God was bringing us to a crossroads in our ministry. We felt like we had given Mt. Hermon everything we had to offer and that God was leading us away from there. So again we began to pray steadfastly. In November we were asked to supply preach for a church in the middle of no where, NC. We came up supply preached and went home. I was in awe of how simple the way of life was and how laid back it was, it really was nice. Then we got a call from that church and they wanted to talk to Travis about the position they had open. So on Nov. 28, 2009 Potecasi Baptist Church called Travis to be the senior pastor.
This became an exciting time in our lives but also a super scary time in our lives. I began to wrestle with God and where he was trying to put us. I first told, (notice I said told) God that Isabella had a great school and we would not go anywhere else. (I said I would NEVER home school) Well God showed me he is in control and put us in a play where the public school is NOT and option and we knew nothing about the private schools so I would be forced to home school for a bit. (oh my word) Then I told God that we had a wonderful home we would have to sell before we could move. I mean we couldn't buy a house when we already had one. Literally the next morning one of the deacons called and said they had a 4 bedroom 2 bath parsonage they would like to offer for us to live in. (I mean really!) Every time I tried to close a door the Lord would show me he was in control and he would swing the doors wide open. So after much soul searching and praying I conceded to God and away we went.
We have been here for almost 10 months and for the most part those have been 10 good months. We home schooled for 6 months and then found a private school that was a good fit for Isabella. We still have our home on the market and so far not much activity but we are placing it in the Lord's hands. Travis still drives to school one day a week (but the end is near 2 semesters to go!!!!). And as for me.....well I do what I can as a pastor's wife. I still have so many struggles. So this is my journey, it has been a rocky one and often scary but it is mine and it is in God's hands. So follow me as I am candid in all that I say and all that I do.
My husband and I both grew up in SW VA near the NC/TN borders. I am from Sugar Grove, VA (You would be hard pressed to find it on a map). My husband from next county over, Glade Spring, VA, just as country but at least they were just off of the interstate.
ReplyDeleteWe were married in 1990 and immediately moved to the Richmond area where he had moved 1 year earlier for a job. Needless to say, it was quite a culture shock taking the girl out of the country. It was quite obvious that it would be very hard however to take the country out of the girl. I had left behind my family and everything I knew, but I had my prince charming and told myself that is all I needed.
Being raised in church and having a great love for the Lord, one of my first endeavors in my new surroundings was to find a church where I could worship. David went along sometimes, but didn't share the same passion to attend on a regular basis. He had other priorities. It was 3 1/2 years before our first arrived (he is now 16) and the 2nd 3 1/2 years after that. I never imagined my husband would become a reg. church attender, let alone a minister. Although it was hard and I made mistakes, I tried my best to stay true to the biblical standards of biblical womanhood. All the while, God was working on the man I had chose to share my life with. After traveling down the wrong roads for far too long, my husband finally came face to face with God in his own real life version of "The Damascus Road" experience. God brought him to the point where he was broken enough to see that he needed to reprioritize his life and truly made Him Lord of his life.
He began to get the call into ministry at that time (that was in 1998) but fought it for many years but eventually found himself at Liberty where he earned a Bachelor of Religion. Toward the end of his LU career, he turned his love for racing into a chaplaincy at Richmond Draqway. As that ministry grew, our church began to support him and ordained David in Oct. 2006.
OUR plan was for David to attend seminary at Liberty while he still worked and I still stayed at home with the kids. Then came the nudge to investigate other schools. We found SEBTS. Again, OUR plan was to continue to live in Chester while he took classes online & at the satellite office while we continue our lives. Then, we took a trip to the SEBTS campus. As soon as we stepped foot on campus, we knew we needed to move so David could concentrate on his studies full time. That meant pulling up roots, packing up the kids, & moving to Wake Forest with NO JOBS, NO MONEY and NO REAL PLAN, nmothing but FAITH. This also meant Chris was going back to work.
David was studying and working part-time at UPS knowing that his real place was behind a pulpit. One day, one of his mentors supply preached at a little country church in Emporia, VA and the pulpit committee asejkd if he know of anyone who could fill the Pastor position. We received a call that week, interviewed and David was asked to supply preach that Sun (1st in July 2008). By Aug he was their Pastor. In the 2 yrs that we have been there, we have grown to love the people of that church. We have shared many happy times with them and some sorrowful times as well. One thing is for certain, this family is in the ministry together. It is not David's ministry, it is OUR ministry. We are all servants of our Lord and we will serve together. David still commutes to school 1 day a week and will finally finish in Fall 2011. While I still struggle with being back in the work force, I am thankful to now have a job that is very FAMILY oriented and my boss understands the demands of ministry because he married a PK. I am proud of the Godly man that my husband has come to be. I will do what I can to serve along side him and together we will stand strong for God, for each other, for our children and for the flock he shepherds.