“Here is another tissue…can I get you anything else.”

Kristin is sick.  Not a cough…she is flat-out sick.  After hitting some amazing highs with the GFC Fearless Women’s conference, she came down from that euphoria into a flu bug, cold symptoms that knocked her out of the office, family and life in general for a week.

I love her more today than ever before.

I cannot imagine what it is like to be a pastor’s wife.  I am going to speak from my point of view knowing that this isn’t true for all pastors.  This is us.  She will go to church knowing that I will rarely sit by her during service because of my responsibilities.  She knows that if she sees me, I am rarely alone because I am serving others.  We will not have any great discussions about the sermons on the way home because we rarely drive together to church. Ironically, since she has come on staff, these statements are true of her as well.  She is a busy lady when she is at services for all the same reasons.

It is special to watch my wife minister.  She is a great speaker from the stage and shares tremendous insights into God’s word or leading others.  She is strong and doesn’t back down from challenging topics.  Yet, when she shares she usually laughs.  This is my favorite.  She laughs not in goofiness – it usually on herself.  It’s a great laugh.  Men tell me she is easy for them to listen to.  Lisa Bevere termed it “a male brain in a female body.”  Kristin is like that too.  She doesn’t use a lot of words and gets to the point.  Ironically, when we disagree, this is not as pleasant as you would think.  I watch her on stage and she makes me smile.

To my children and grandchildren, she is Big Momma.  If you seen her, she ain’t that big…she is actually petite.  But she liked that name and it has stuck.  One of the biggest gifts she gave our kids is her ability to work through life situations with them.  When they were younger with lots of questions, it was answered with “Do you want the simple answer or the messy answer?”  As they got older, it was helping them to see blind spots and navigate challenges.  Today, she is a resource of wisdom, understanding and discernment.  To our grandkids, she is energy, “let’s do this,” and the food queen.  (Got a picky eaters and chow hounds.)  She will wrestle them to the floor, blow bubbles endlessly, read to them and snuggle them to bed.

We will celebrate 29 years of marriage in May.  We were so young, both of us twenty when we married.  She is still confident and vibrant.  Where I will train for months for a race, she will train for six weeks for a half marathon with the Iron Sharpeners.  She loves going to New York once a year with one of our girls, family or friends.  She has learned how to navigate the city like a native and keeps everyone moving to all the sites and shows.  But the one thing she does every day that means the world to me is that she stops her busy schedule with all the demands and sits….With me…On our couch…And we talk.  She lets me pour out my challenges and victories.  She listens and gives great insights.  And she smiles.

That is my wife.