Twenty and a half years ago I stood at the altar of the FBC of Hurst, TX to marry Brenda. We both had a lot of hopes and dreams. She worked as a Senior Merchandise Manager for JC Penney and I served a church in Weatherford, TX as a part time student pastor as well as being a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.
We had grand dreams as we started our lives together. Neither of us foresaw the great challenges, heart breaks, and deep sorrows we would experience. We were young, in love and idealistic. We rejoiced during that youth ministry when dozens of students trusted Christ as Savior and followed in baptism. We made our home in old tiny farm house. Life was simple and we had high hopes and dreams for the future.
After two years we left that church as I began my pastoral ministry. I served the next church in Burke, TX for five years. It proved to be five of the hardest years of our lives. I learned the hard way that there is much more to serving as a pastor than just preaching. I traveled full time for five years after leaving that church vowing I would never pastor again. My traveling ministry forced Brenda to endure financial hardships and life without a husband at home while trying to raise young boys. She never wavered but stood strong with me through those hard days. Eventually she felt God leading her to quit work and the financial trials continued.
When I sensed the Lord calling me back into pastoral ministry she gave me her full support. We tried to start a church. We worked hard and prayed harder but saw it die a slow painful death after four years of labor. The financial trials intensified over the course of the next eighteen months. I did not have a church to serve other than a handful of people who gathered in our living room to be taught the Bible. Door after door shut on us to find a new church to serve. Over thirty to be exact. It felt like nobody wanted us and I lost a lot of confidence and went through a severe bout of depression during that time. Brenda keep believing in me and encouraging me. She never blamed me or complained about the financial hardships. She managed our meager income and endured the stress and difficulty with joy and a love and respect for I still cannot fathom.
When FBC Paradise called she felt the Lord's leading in it long before I did. I was hesitant but she had God's peace. We enjoyed four of the best years we could have imagined with those dear people. We still look back on our ministry to that church with fond memories. Out of nowhere God called us away from Paradise and close proximity to her family to far West Texas. Brenda was resistant at first until she heard the Lord's voice for herself. She followed out to the land of dirt and wind.
Our brief two years in Seminole were better than I can put down in this blog. We experienced the greatest success in ministry and witnessed outpouring of God's power in ways we never have dreamed. Brenda impacted many lives in Seminole both in and outside the church. When God began leading me to follow Him away from Seminole and back to Paradise once again Brenda followed with me through tears. Leaving Seminole was hard but she followed God with me to a life of completely starting over. She gave up her friends, her ladies' Bible study class, a great salary, and her home. For months she was forced to live in a house of a friend in Paradise while I lived in an RV. Today she lives in a tiny home where we cannot even fit a dining table. She does not complain but makes the best of it.
She is my best friend. My soul mate. She is my first and my leading lady. Nobody other than God has more influence on my life than she does. I love her deeply. I gladly praise her for all to hear. [Prov 31:31]
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