Ghostwriter

I managed to use the few minutes I had for lunch the other day to scoot into Barnes and Noble for a cup of coffee and browse through the books. I could lose myself for hours in a bookstore. Bill tries to keep my out of Bookstores as I tend to buy alot of books but not get around to reading them. Anyway...seeing all the autobiographies , some by people I know and many by people I don't, made me think about a conversation I had with our daughter , Kate , this summer.

We had the opportunity to go to dinner by ourselves one evening and got into a discussion about expectations that people have of pastor's families. I told her that her Dad and I had often joked through the years about writing a book about real life in a pastor's family....and now that we're coming up on 25 years in the ministry..maybe it's time to start writing! Much to my surprise she was very excited by the idea. I think her comment was " Yeah Mom..you should do it! Someone has to tell people what it's really like! I can be your ghostwriter!" We discussed some details like what would I include and what would I need to leave out, who would my target audience be, how would I title the chapters (maybe The Perfect Husband, the Perfect Kids,The Perfect Life -I am kidding ;)...would anybody really read it?

I've always thought my target audience would actually be lay people..so they could see that so many of their expectations are unrealistic....and ...sometimes unfair. I want them to know that very human people serve as their pastors...people who love them and what they do but have many of the same struggles they do and maybe even a few they don't. I know that pastors are held to a higher standard even in the Bible but the real truth is that it is just very overwhelming sometimes and sometimes very lonely. I think my other target audience would be pastor's wives...and future pastor's wives. I came into this role with very unrealistic expectations. I read all of the books I could find on how to be a Pastor's wife...and actually thought.".How hard can it be?". Ha! Famous last words. It has been a struggle...lots of joyful moments getting to see God work in so many people's lives...BUT ...definitely a struggle.If I could help even one pastor's wife or future pastor's wife prepare for life in the ministry, then it would be worth it.

Still...not sure how I would ever sort through all of the stories and years of memories and create something enjoyable to read......and honest. If there is one thing I'm guilty of ( and I assure you, there are many)..it is that I haven't always....ok.... rarely, let people see the person behind the mask.

Had coffee with another pastor's wife friend of mine tonight. We joked about the title," Confessions of a Pastor's Wife". Now that might get a few readers. For now...I'll stick with blogging....and a little unveiling at a time;)