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It was our last lunch together. My friend Kimberly had an aggressive form of cancer and knew her time was short. I hadn\u2019t accepted the fact yet, because she was only in her early forties and had a loving husband and three children to finish raising. But she couldn\u2019t fight anymore.<\/p>\n
Preparing for my friend of almost two decades to visit that fated day a decade ago, you would have thought royalty was coming. I brewed a teapot of piping hot flavored tea and set the dining room table with the good china, candles, and prepared a lunch feast, even though there would only be the two of us. Usually, lunch together meant going to a restaurant, but Kim had wanted to come to my home. It was our custom to bless food wherever we ate. Truthfully, I can\u2019t remember who said grace, but I vividly recall her tell-tale prayer at the end, \u201cAnd God, please give Christina a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, wait just one minute, Kimberly. I don\u2019t need a friend, I have you<\/em>. This thought raced through my mind, denying the reality she had already accepted. A few weeks later, she was gone.<\/p>\n Those of you who have also lost a close friend, empathize with how painful this loss can be. It\u2019s a rare gift to find a faithful friend, although many folks have an ardent desire to experience intimate friendship.<\/p>\n But is friendship becoming extinct? One of the reason\u2019s I wrote the inspirational fictional book, \u201cSecrets of the Pastor\u2019s Wife: A Novel\u201d<\/a> is because I\u2019m worried about friendship. I\u2019m concerned it might soon be as outdated as last year\u2019s technology, and I\u2019m pretty sure technology is the culprit deserving most of the blame.<\/p>\n To explain, recently a school bus filled with adolescents passed me when I was driving, and I noticed a lot of their young heads were in a downward position. Many were probably listening to music, texting, or checking their social media accounts on their smartphones. This, instead of taking the opportunity to be social with the kid in the seat next to them.<\/p>\n I empathize with the difficulty these precious women can have when trying to find a confidential friend to share their current issues or even past heartbreak. We often place ministerial families under a microscopic lens of scrutiny, and have the unrealistic expectation their lives should be perfect. Quite frequently, the needs and even existence of a pastor’s wife can also be overlooked, especially if her husband is an in-demand dynamic leader.<\/p>\n Plus, during my years working in broadcasting, I was asked to host a TV special, where pastors’ wives shared about their lives. One guest was concerned about me interviewing her, apprehensive over my understanding of her situation. Only minutes before the show was to be broadcast, she anxiously asked what my husband did.<\/p>\n “He’s a public-school administrator,” I answered nervously, unsure of how she would view this revelation. But instantly, she visibly relaxed, smiled a wide smile, and teasingly joked, “Oh, that’s the same thing.”<\/span><\/p>\n This wise lady understood whenever you are married to a man in any kind of leadership role, it can be isolating and most challenging to find a trustworthy confidant, fearing you could jeopardize your mate’s position simply by being a flawed human being.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re truthful, all of us are flawed, and burying our pain and problems forces us to wear a societal mask. And masks can become a type of prison that morph into a lifestyle of pretending everything\u2019s perfect when everything\u2019s a hot mess. The bottom line: \u201cSecrets of the Pastor\u2019s Wife: A Novel\u201d is about the desire most women carry deep within to experience intimate friendship. The kind of friendship allowing us to take our mask off, sit down with a steaming cup of coffee or hot tea, and pour our worries out to someone who won\u2019t judge us, and to be a listening ear in return.<\/p>\n Of course, if we\u2019re married, our spouse should be our best friend, but as women we need other females who will walk this crazy journey of daily living with us. We don\u2019t require hundreds of friends, not like on Facebook where friendship is created by clicking \u201cconfirm.\u201d Instead, we need someone with skin on to put their arm around us when we are hurting, to love us enough to tell us when we’re wrong, and to be present in our time of crisis or heartbreak, and we should be there in return.<\/p>\n A friend like Kimberly was to me or like Katie in my novel. The widowed coffee shop owner is a trustworthy confidant for Cassie, the pastor\u2019s wife. I hope the book is an entertaining read and it is designed with discussion questions for book clubs and church groups. Yet at the end of the day, my desire is for this novel to provide comfort and encouragement for everyone who needs emotional or spiritual healing or support, the kind of support true friendship provides.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mike Ullery photo<\/p><\/div>\n Christina Ryan Claypool is a national Amy and Ohio APME award-wining freelance journalist, five-time Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor, and Inspirational speaker. Her book, \u201cSecrets of the Pastor\u2019s Wife: A Novel\u201d<\/a><\/em> is available at all major online outlets including Amazon.com<\/a>, or visit her website at www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/a> for more details.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was our last lunch together. My friend Kimberly had an aggressive form of cancer and knew her time was short. I hadn\u2019t accepted the fact yet, because she was only in her early forties and had a loving husband … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Secrets-of-the-Pastors-Wife-final-cover-150x200.jpg\")
<\/a>That\u2019s why my novel is about the close friendship between an early 40s pastor\u2019s wife and a sixty-something widowed coffee shop owner. I chose to make the main character a fictional minister\u2019s spouse, because there\u2019s often an unrealistic social stereotype for this supporting ministry role, even within Christian circles.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Kimberly-150x200.jpg\")
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