Last Year’s Busiest Day – Depression & the Pastor’s Wife
My WordPress annual report notice has been flashing on my dashboard for a few days, so I finally took a look at it last night. I was immediately surprised by one statistic and yet should not have been. February 3rd was the busiest day of this blog last year and the most read post on that day was Depression & the Pastor’s Wife: Suffering in Silence by Cara Croft, the wife of Brian, the founder of Practical Shepherding.
I was surprised this post received as much attention as it did, but I should not have been. Why? Transparency is growing among pastors and their wives concerning battles that, though not unique to vocational ministry, seem to be especially challenging and more common than the average church member realizes. Still the number of pastors and their wives who choose to suffer in silence is epidemic. Why? Well, frankly, it’s safer. The sad reality is that often times the very place where Christlike gentleness and grace should abound is the place where harshness and Pharisaism rule instead. Therefore, I’m thankful for Brian and Cara and their risk-taking openness. Churches will gradually become better places because of it. If you’ve not read Cara’ testimony already, please do. Here it is.
