The first half of my forties has not been kind. I’ve found myself at the end of myself on several occasions. Each time I’ve cried out to God for help and comfort, I’ve looked up to see my husband standing in the doorway. Always bringing me what I just told God I needed. Chris has been an endless well of encouragement, challenge, and love. He has been the best type of pastor.
Chris is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. The zeal never really dries up, unless a tumor squeezes it to the side. With Chris, the person in front of him really is his favorite, the intention really is genuine, the future really is bright, and there really always is a reason to party.
In our early twenties when marriage was beating us down, we counseled with one of our pastors. One of the things he started with was a personality test. When the results came in, he bluntly revealed: “Chris without Jodi in your life you’d never get anything done. Jodi, without Chris in your life you’d never have any fun.” More truth about us has rarely been said. I’ve took him to task for 25 years, and he’s been my personal party for all of them.
One day last week he announced, “It’s my duty to make sure you have more fun. You don’t have enough.” He takes his job seriously. He does it well. That’s part of why he’s such a good pastor. He encourages people with an outlook that most left in their childhood. It’s when he’s not around that I realize how well he pastors. When he was unable to lead because we thought we were slowly losing him, I got a taste of how well he does it. Because I missed it.
I’ve realized that God didn’t just send me to make sure he gets stuff done but also to protect the part of him that is most inspirational…most exceptional.
I never could have fully grasped how God would use me to help Chris be who he was created to be, to help him find freedom and to be an extension of God’s salvation to him. It was a journey of sacrifice and selflessness. Marriage has to be. It can be painful and heartbreaking at times. But If I had skipped out on marriage because of the hard stuff, I would have missed how God would use Chris to be what I needed too. I am much better because of all of it.