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My Pastor’s Wife Showed Me Christ
When I first met Julie‚ she was carrying snack bowls from the nursery‚ helping the kitchen volunteers‚ and keeping track of her children. When she saw me‚ however‚ she paused it all to give me a warm hug.
Her husband‚ the pastor‚ also greeted me‚ welcoming me to the church. They were happy to hear a college student was interested in joining the congregation. I told them I would love to but wasn’t sure how I could‚ since it was 40 minutes away from the school and I didn’t have a car.
“Oh‚ don’t worry about that. I’m sure we’ll find people who can bring you‚” said Joseph‚ the pastor.
Julie nodded‚ “We’d be happy to bring you!”
From that first moment‚ Julie began showing me the gospel through her service.
Serving Through Listening
That semester‚ Julie picked me up outside my dorm every single week. It was over 20 minutes out of her way in each direction—meaning she had to get her family up and ready to leave early—but she was glad to do it for me. Our drive to church was always a blessing because she’d ask me about school and life and how she could pray for me.
As she listened‚ she encouraged me to remember that God will direct my steps (Prov. 16:9) and that in the meantime‚ I should be faithful where God had me. Each week she challenged me—whether directly or not—to share God’s love with the people he’d placed in my life by sharing his Word and serving them practically (Gal. 6:10; Heb. 10:24).
Serving Through Actions
No matter how early we arrived for the service‚ some issue always came up. Because the church was small‚ Joseph was busy every Sunday morning as the worship leader‚ preacher‚ shepherd‚ and friend. So Julie was usually the one with the solution—typically with a child or two tailing her. When the printer broke‚ she ran to the store 10 minutes before the service started to print copies of the bulletin. When the alarm in the hallway wouldn’t stop going off‚ she was the one to jump up and turn it off repeatedly.
Each week she challenged me—whether directly or not—to share God’s love with the people he’d placed in my life
No matter how busy she was‚ she always stopped to hug people and ask about any health or family prayer requests.
Joseph and Julie often had me over for lunch after church‚ and I spent many relaxed Sunday afternoons with them and their four boys. As we sat around the table for lunch or in the living room for a game of Codenames‚ Julie would slow down to play with her kids. I watched as she snuggled with her little boys while the older two explained to her the rules of a new game or what had happened in the Dude Perfect video they just watched.
I watched her patiently serve her children and noticed that the warm hospitality she displayed at church started in her home.
Serving with Love
As I got to know Julie better‚ I told her I admired how quick she was to fix a problem or fill a need while still taking time for individual people. I was surprised when she confessed it didn’t come naturally. It was easy for her to get caught up in the details or try to do too much. She was still learning to trust the Lord with the things she couldn’t get to.
Sometimes‚ she said‚ the Lord wanted her to stop focusing on the tasks that needed to be done and start focusing on the people in front of her. It reminded me of the first time I met her. What struck me that morning wasn’t her act of service in cleaning the bowls but her act of love in hugging me.
I know Julie finds tremendous joy in serving others‚ but the most important part of her ministry is when she slows down to genuinely care for people with the love of Jesus. Most people never know about the broken printers or the malfunctioning alarms‚ but they see the care Julie has for people.
Most people never know about the broken printers or the malfunctioning alarms‚ but they see the care Julie has for people.
They know she cares enough to spend an extra hour in the car every Sunday to get a college kid to church. They know she cares enough to learn Spanish so she can better communicate with church members. They know she cares enough to remember what they’re going through and to check on them.
Julie and I have had many good conversations in which she’s taught me from God’s Word. She’s reminded me to love those in front of me the way God does and to trust him to lead me to the places where I can best do that. But even more than the conversations‚ she’s shown me what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Christ and to pursue loving others as a way to love him.
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