Now that I am officially no longer a youth pastor's wife but a church planters wife, I thought I'd share some secrets. I was a youth pastor's wife for 10 years. We had great times, bad times, low times, exciting times, and sad times. That will bring me to my first confession:
#1: The saddest time was leaving teenagers. We were in three churches and each time we had to say goodbye to the teenagers, it was quite excruciating. That was the worst part of leaving and starting a new calling God had for us. Everything within you wants to take every teenager with you to your next adventure. I always had this excitement in me because I knew God had something else for us but the other part of me would be more sad than I can explain. I had many teenagers that I saw amazing potential in and that challenged me more than I did them. Leaving those sweet faces was most definitely the hardest part of youth ministry.
#2: We talked about you. HEHE!!! Really, we did. We would talk about how great a student was doing or how desperate they were for something real in their lives. We talked about how we could make them feel more loved and accepted. We talked about how we couldn't believe how they took the gospel to their schools with no hesitation. We also talked about the select few who drove us nuts and what we could do to see them in a new way:) They were also prayed for more than anyone knows.
#3: LOCK-INS ARE FROM THE DEVIL!! Seriously, who came up with the idea to lock 20-30 teenagers in a gym and feed them nothing but junk food, candy and soda all night long? As if that's not bad enough, adults who get stuck dealing with that madness ALL NIGHT LONG!!!! I hated them and as most of the teenagers who knew me knows: I DIDN'T GO TO THEM UNLESS I HAD TO! I love sleep and I love peace and quiet and lock-ins don't quite fit in that category. Josh and I stopped doing them by our third year in youth ministry...hint, hint to any youth pastors out there....DON'T DO IT!!!
#4: Out of town youth trips were not a vacation. I remember seeing a clip from skit guys about a pastor who asked a youth pastor is he had a good vacation while on a ski trip with the youth group. I laugh hysterically every time I see it because leading a trip with 50 teenagers OUT OF TOWN is NOT a vacation. Do we see God do amazing things? YES!! Do we have a blast getting to know new teenagers?YES!! Did we know that the students learn spiritual truth at many of these things? YES!! On the flip side of that, are we stressed out that you may break your leg skiing down the mountain? YES!! Are we praying that we will get at least 2 hours of sleep the whole weekend? YES!! Do we miss our kids that we left behind? YES!! Are we scared that you'll do something stupid that we'll have to tell your parents about later?YES!! I have great memories on trips with youth and many that I will never forget but man are those things stressful.
#5: We truly love each teenager. There is no doubt that teenagers can drive anyone crazy but we loved each one that crossed our paths. I saw something great in every single one of them and am now seeing God do some amazing things in many of their lives as adults (yes, I'm that old). I have gotten phone calls about how things I have said changed the course of their lives forever. I have also gotten phone calls that have devastated Josh and I and brought us to tears. In all of it, we have loved so many teenagers and seen great works of the Lord in so many. Josh and I have 2 children but I feel like we have hundreds more. They have stretched me, broke me, moved me, challenged me, encouraged me, and loved me and for that I am forever changed.
So, those are my top 5 confessions. There are many more but some may not be very nice and some would incriminate so many...HEHE!! I am blessed to have been a youth pastor's wife even in the hard times. As we are on a new journey, AGAIN, I love looking back at where God has had us. To every teenager that has crossed our paths, WE LOVE YOU, YOU HAVE BEEN COVERED IN PRAYER, and YOU HAVE CHANGED US IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!! :)
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