The Pastor's Wife

Last week Wanda Sumrall went to heaven. Wanda was the wife of Ken Sumrall. They were married for 64 yeears.  As is always the case, when someone dies it causes you to reflect on their life.  Obviously, we shouldn't wait until then but too often we do.  Wanda was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother, but right or wrong she was known primarily as "Ken Sumrall's wife".  That fact means that for most of her life she lived out of the spotlight and in his shadow.  For many this would have been a problem but for Wanda it was welcomed. 

It makes us pause and ask, "what is a pastor's wife"?  I can remember when Teresa and I first entered the ministry, Teresa found herself in that very demanding role, "Pastor's Wife"!  There was a struggle in the first couple of years.  The reason was that tradition had written an unwritten job description for the role.  For the most part during that era a pastor's wife had to be able to sing, play the piano, hopefully lead worship, lead the women's ministry of the church, preach and counsel women at the drop of a hat.  She had to do all that while training her children and keeping house!  What a job!  I remember the day when the two of us were sitting in front of an experienced older pastor and he sensed our struggle.  He asked us to tell him what we thought a pastor's wife should be.  We started rattling off much of the job description I just mentioned.  He stopped us and simply said, "a pastor's wife is the pastor's wife!"  REALLY?!?!!  I could see and feel the relief in Teresa.  You see, she doesn't sing, lead worship or preach.  She doesn't enjoy leading meetings of any kind.  She is an excellent counselor when speaking the Truth of the Scripture is concerned. This function takes a person who knows their identity.  Wanda Sumrall was just such a lady. 

Certainly there are pastor's wives who feel called to and are gifted in many of the areas I mentioned.  They may be gifted in any or all of those more visible roles and I applaud them.  However, for those like Wanda and my own Teresa their real strength lies behind the scenes.  Teresa has always created a sanctuary in our home that I could run to at the end of the day or when returning from a road trip.  She is a confidant like no other, a prophetic voice often adjusting attitudes in me that could cause problems in public. She helps me develop sermons and teaching materials.  Yet, possibly her greatest strength is her ability to put wind in my sails when the circumstances of life cause me to go dead in the water. 

Today, I honor Wanda Sumrall and I celebrate all those women who have stood in the shadows and from that out of the way position, the position of the pastor's wife, impacted generations.