Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Misadventures of a pastor's wife...



A couple of Sundays ago, a dear brown skinned woman walked into our church foyer and asked me what time the service started.  I asked her if she wanted to know what time the morning service was or what time the Truelife Espanol service was.  Call me red faced when she explained to me that she is from the Marshall Islands!  Thank God He covers our mistakes with His grace.  She came forward for prayer at the end of the morning service with tears streaming down her face and I was privileged to be able to pray for her.

I was not so fortunate with a visitor some years back.  Evidently my focus was not on what I was doing when I greeted a visitor at the front door, then just a few moments later re-introduced myself to the same lady in the women's restroom!  Way to make some someone feel unforgettable!  I don't think she ever came back.

My most infamous moment might be the Sunday morning that I noticed people snickering as they read their Sunday morning bulletin.  I had typed up the bulletin which contained an announcement for an upcoming baby shower, including a list of items that the mama to be still needed for her baby.  Let's just say that it's best if you remember the all important consonant R in the word t-shirts.

Those are all relatively harmless and innocent faux pas, but I am pretty sure that all of my mistakes in ministry haven't been so laughable.  I could definitely write a post of my misadventures in marriage and motherhood as well.  Yet, there have been a lot of failures on my part in those areas that brought me to tears instead of laughter.

BUT GOD, the two most beautiful words in the English language.  But God has time and time and time again forgiven me for my failures, covered my mistakes with His grace, and helped me to get back up and dust myself off and keep going.  Faux pas and failures don't have to be fatal.  Sometimes the best cure for the first one is just to laugh at yourself.  And here's what I've learned about dealing with failure.
The cure for failure is to:
  •  humble yourself before God, ask for His forgiveness and accept His grace to deal with your past and to strengthen you to walk in His ways in the future
  • humble yourself before others by apologizing to anyone you may have hurt or offended in the process of your failure
  • refuse to stay stuck in your place of failure - get up and keep going forward!
And now, let me leave you with the famous words of Anne of Green Gables, 
(author L.M.Montgomery), 
"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

still following,

   







at 3-D Lessons for Life







21 comments:

  1. Love those two words BUT GOD! What hope those give us when we keep messing up time and time again!

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    1. I love those two words too, Kathryn! I depend on them!

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  2. Perfect post. Thank you... xoxo

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  3. I say it all the time too. BUT GOD are the two most powerful words in the English language when put together. Thank you for sharing and for the reminder that our failures do not have to be fatal. I found you on Holley's link up.

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    1. I'm so glad you popped in from Holley's. Thanks for your encouragement!

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  4. That's my favorite Anne of Green Gables quote. Yes, but God.

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  5. Can very much related to these as a pastor's wife! Thank God for His grace! Thank you for sharing this encouragement. Visiting from #imperfectprose .. Blessings to you.

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    1. I'm so glad you stopped by! Thank you for your kind comment.

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  6. Amen, Elizabeth! So thankful His mercies are new every morning! {I sometimes need them morning, noon and night, lol!}

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  7. how blessed we are
    that He has already made provision for all of our mistakes!

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  8. Amen, dear Green Gabled Anne.

    And Amen to the post. I have made some doozies in my day, and I love and need the reminder to get up and not repeat them, not live in them, but not let them define the new day either.

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  9. Such a good post. So thankful for Gods grace and mercy. Where oh where wouldI be wwithout them ?!

    Blessings...

    ~Sherri

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  10. Elizabeth, such a transparent post. Some of our errors will make us laugh till tears roll and others just cause the tears to roll. And God's grace covers them all. So grateful for His grace and His mercies, which are new every single morning. Blessings!

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  11. Holy goose bumps when I got to "But God." And I laughed through this too! Love your honesty. Such a great life lesson, Elizabeth. Thank you!

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  12. Oh my...I've been there so many times myself. Thank you for this great reminder of God's amazing grace, Elizabeth.

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  13. Elizabeth, I am a PW too. Thanks for sharing your faux pas with us. I've been there far too often, and praise God daily that His love and mercy never fail. Oh, how I need His love and mercy.

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