Dear Pastor's Wife

To My Beloved Pastors Wives,

Hello, my name is Bao and I’m a pastor’s wife. Some days I hate it and some days I love it but at the end of the day that’s part of who I am. A pastor’s wife.

For the past five years, I have been thinking about you, pastors’ wives, wondering how I can help you and make you see that we don’t have to be alone. And so here is my open letter to you, encouraging you to press forward and be faithful to God’s calling in your life.

We, pastors’ wives, have been set apart for a unique calling. This calling will test us and sometimes break us and quite possibly cost us our very lives. But we face these challenges nonetheless because we love Him.

And so, to the seasoned pastor’s wife to the fledgling entering the field, I exhort you to be faithful to God. Do not take your eyes off of Him, when the storms of ministry come your way. Do not fear for He is with you—always. (Matt. 28:20).

Therefore, hold fast to His promises and His commands and love—love people as you have never loved before. Love them with all your strength and when you’ve given up, love again. In Scripture we are reminded that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:4-8). This is the standard of love that you are to follow.

In your struggle against sin, Jesus calls you to lean on him and to love him with all your being. In Mark 12:29-30 Jesus says “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

As pastors' wives, it is out of this great love for our King, that we joyfully serve Him and support our husbands as they answer the heavy call to shepherd God's people.

Likewise, we are in a sense a shepherdess, not like our husbands, in that we lead God’s people and preach to them God’s word but in that, we care for and love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray and cry with them. We call them back when they go astray but more importantly, we share with them the good news of Jesus Christ as we live out our lives as daughters of the great King.

The calling of a pastor’s wife is a blessing and you should always remember that.

Your Fellow Solider of Christ,

Bao

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Bao Vang is a wife and mom of two amazing daughters. When Bao's not serving her local church, she likes to write and spend time with her family. Bao received her MA in Theological Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and she is currently working on a PhD in Bible Exposition at John W. Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. Bao is also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature.