Can I share something with you? Of course I can, and I will, because hi, I’m Kayla and I tend to over-share. And this is my little corner of the great big Interwebs and you’re here, so let’s just be honest and real with each other for a minute, shall we?
Ministry is not easy.
Neither is being married to a pastor.
Especially when your mission field is nothing like you’d ever imagine and you find Jesus leading you down rocky paths and the Holy Spirit leading you to rip bandaids off and have hard conversations and do hard things. (How’s that for a run-on sentence?) When I read Interrupted, I was so sad to read that 88 percent of all pastors’ wives answered yes to the question, “Have you ever experienced periods of depression?”
But you know what makes things easier? Not being alone. Having co-laborers who get it. I’m thankful to call Debbie, who is married to our head pastor, a friend and mentor. I’m thankful that we can get coffee or share a meal and she understands my heart and provides insight, too. We all need “safe” people that we can confide in, and I’m thankful for her!
SO, I was thrilled to see that she, at random, won the drawing! Yay! I wish I were a baller and could buy everyone who entered a copy, but bug Debbie and maybe she will pass the copy onto you when she’s done. (By the way, Debbie is an ambassador for ViBella jewelry — go get you some.)
Throughout Interrupted, there are small bits in each section called Brandon’s take. Brandon is Jen’s husband and was moving up the ladder of megachurch leadership when God began to take them in a different direction. Here’s what he said about the beginning of that season of life:
“God uses women as the catalyst in much of His work. Look in the Scriptures. Look in our churches. It’s the women who seem sensitive to God’s Spirit; their intimacy with God is heightened to a level few men experience. So if you trust the faith of your wife, why not simply ask God to speak in union to you both? (That’s a two-way street. Ladies, you hear me?) Talk about a life of mutual respect and love.”
I’m really thankful that Jonny very much sees me as a partner in our marriage, values my perspective and personhood, and deeply prioritizes our family. But, there are just certain challenges that arise when you’re so intimately woven into a community of broken (awesome, but broken) people that I’m also very thankful I have someone like Debbie who understands. Debbie, I can’t wait to discuss this book with you!
(I was part of a group of bloggers who reviewed Interrupted — you can check out all of their stellar reviews at the end of Jen’s post here. We’re not in this alone.)
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many sparrows 