The Mis-Adventures of Being A Wife

This blog started out as a tongue-in-cheek response to a book called "The Adventures of Being a Wife" written by "Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale," the power behind the positive thinker and legendary wife to the late minister of the church where my husband currently serves as associate pastor.
But that was when I had only read the title and was only engaged to my future spouse. Now, four years into marriage and three years ordained and one chapter shy of finishing Mrs. Peale's book, I have a great appreciation for her insights on how to lead a good life though they are very much of her time (Publication date 1971). One of the ideas I admire the most is her description of wifehood as a career--if only because she enjoyed a partnership that most married people of her generation did not have. She recognizes her blessings but neglects to critique the social forces that prohibit others from having this.
I agree that being a wife, particularly, a minister's wife has always been a career. Yet, things get tricky for the modern woman when we have a career at home and outside the home. For me, it is not just about having a "Second Shift," but a mirrored identity. I am both minister's wife and minister. I feel all the contradictions of playing two roles at once. My experience of how the public and private spheres entangle isn't unique to being a minister/'s wife, but I do hope my efforts to wrestle with this female archetype and to inhabit this patriarchal profession may intrigue, may enlighten, or just may simply entertain.

Peace and Blessings,
The Reverand and Mrs. W L