Some nights as a ministry wife are just lonely. I have to say it doesn’t get any easier each time. Sometimes its a welcome relief from the constant busyness to have some time by yourself. Other days its just a weariness that overcomes you when the door closes again and he has to go. Sometimes you want to just sit around and pout and think evil thoughts about the man who works crazy, odd hours that don’t make sense to anyone outside of a ministry life. Tonight was one of those nights. 
Then, by God’s grace, I saw this poem that Ruth Bell Graham had written years ago when her husband, Billy Graham, had been traveling far away without their family. It encouraged me and I hope it does you as well, to continue to do what God has called us to do while our husbands do as they have been called to do.
Love
without clinging;
cry
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to the newness of loving
in practical ways:
cleaning
and cooking
and sorting out clothes,
all say, “I love you,”
when lovingly done.
So—
love
without clinging;
cry—
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to the length of his stride,
the song he is singing,
the trail he must ride,
the tensions that make him
the man that he is,
the world he must face,
the life that is his.
So
love
without clinging;
cry—
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to being the heart,
not the forefront of life;
a part of himself,
not the object—
his wife.
So—
love!
-Ruth Bell Graham
