Celebrating 30 Years

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.                       ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Just a little over 30 years ago I remember being 6 months pregnant and sitting beside Tim as we were offered our first church in a little town close to Anderson called Markleville.  At that moment in time I had no idea what it would mean to be a Pastor’s Wife.  All I knew was that I loved this man named Tim Terrell and I was more than willing to go wherever God called him to go.  At the interview in our first church, the committee asked me if Tim could preach.  I responded, I don’t know, I have never heard him.  They still took us.

At the 30 year mark I can confirm that Tim can preach.  I have always been very proud of his ministry skills.  He is a great preacher, an amazing caregiver to his congregation, and he is one of the hardest working pastors I know.  I may be a bit biased but I am proud to call him MY Pastor. 

I could write pages about each of the moves and the many parsonage experiences we have shared over the 30 years.  Tim and I have been blessed to serve 5 churches.  Our children have attended school in 4 school districts.  We have switched Dr.’s way too many times and have navigated the local Walmart in many towns.  When we made our first move to the Markleville United Methodist Church my father gave me great advice.  He simply told me to love the people and they will love you back.  He was so right.

As Tim and I reflect over each of our appointments we continue to be thankful for the amazing friendships we have established.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.  Each appointment provided our family with loving people who blessed us abundantly.  The kids developed great friendships and learned to find every possible hiding place in each church.  As for Tim and I, we too have developed long lasting friendships. I would be guilty of the sin of telling a lie if I told you life as a ministry family was easy or that I have loved every minute.   What I can say is that I would not have wanted life to be any different.  Tim often reminds me that living the plan God has for you is the best place to be.