susie spurgeon, turkey chili, and happiness.

Susannah “Susie” Spurgeon was the wife of Charles Spurgeon, a famous British pastor in the mid 1800’s. I’ve been contemplating her life as a pastor’s wife lately.

Susie had a difficult life. As a cultured, newly married young woman who loved travel, art, and literature, she developed a debilitating illness that required major surgery, and left her in pain and mostly house-bound for the rest of her life. The illness may also have caused her to be infertile after the birth of her twin sons. If there was anyone who had an excuse to opt out of ministry, Susie did.

Her marriage to Charles was a strong and joyful one, but it wasn’t easy. He preached routinely to thousands of people, kept a demanding schedule, authored many books, and traveled often, in spite of his wife’s chronic illness. His life in the public eye drew criticism and slander and heartache. He suffered from what would now be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder and bouts of depression. If there was anyone who had an excuse to feel bitter and lonely and misunderstood as a minister’s wife, Susie did.

Charles became ill and died at age 58 (Susie was 60), leaving her broken-hearted at the loss of the love of her life. If there was anyone who had a reason to check out of ministry at that point and live a more peaceful, comfortable life, Susie did.

But while these are true facts about Susie’s life, they aren’t the story of her life.

Instead of being defined by a life of physical suffering, loss, demanding ministry, hurt, and death, Susie chose to be defined by God’s faithfulness, provision, kindness, and tender care. She was remarkably courageous and hard-working and positive. Susie didn’t minimize her life’s pain and trials, but saw every single part of her life as ordained by God and redeemed for His glory.

While housebound with her illness, she decided to start a ministry to distribute theology books to rural pastors who could barely afford food to feed their families, much less books. She helped pastors and their families financially for her entire life, and after her husband’s death, was responsible for helping start a church in a town that didn’t have a strong gospel-preaching church.

Susie Spurgeon was a pastor’s wife who loved Christ and loved His Church. She laid down her rights and her comfort and her preferences for this Church, time and again.

And in reading her biography, I was struck by the fact that she’s one of the most joyful real-life people I’ve read about. Susie was content in her life and in her God. She found the Great Secret and it’s this: a happy life is a life spent serving other people. A joyful person is a person who gives up her own rights and her own preferences and her own identity in exchange for Christ’s life and His identity. This is a person who is free.

And knowing all of this begs the question: Why would I ever think I’m above Susie Spurgeon?

If she was called to give her life to serve the Church of Christ, why wouldn’t I be called to give my life serving the Church of Christ?

If Peter and John and Paul and the other apostles were called to give their lives serving the Church, why wouldn’t I?

If Jesus willingly laid down His life to pay the price to redeem the Church as His Bride, why wouldn’t I?

So. That’s enough.

That’s enough complaining, self-pity, bitterness, and exhaustion.

That’s enough of a story marked by “Full-time ministry is so much harder than I thought it would be. Hardly anyone understands what it costs me.”

That is not my story.

My story is one of God’s faithfulness. My story is one of His unconditional love and tender mercies and daily provision. It’s one of victory over the sins that so easily entangle, and contentment with my lot, exactly as He’s given it to me. It’s a life of choosing to love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates. It’s one of laying down and dying for His Church. No matter what the cost. Today and tomorrow and the next day, and every day until I go to heaven.

My story is one of wiping baseboards and scrubbing bathrooms and vacuuming rugs and making turkey chili for 35 new church members for God’s glory. It’s one of watching my husband dismantle our pretty living room and fill it with tacky church folding chairs to seat a crowd for God’s glory.

It’s one of opening wide our home on a Sunday afternoon to welcome in dozens of people I’ve just met and making them feel comfortable and praying that they feel like they belong here, to this group of people, for God’s glory. It’s one of rejoicing in three new conversions in our midst and crying with a friend who’s crying this weekend, and chasing little kids around the backyard, for God’s glory. It’s one of sweeping brownie crumbs off the floor and taking out overflowing trash bags and collapsing into bed at 9:30 pm and thanking God that He gave me one more day to lay down my life for His Church, for His glory.

My story is a story of love and peace and happiness. Real happiness.

 

For the blessedness of receiving is not all God has for us: a new world lies beyond — a world of giving: a giving first to God in surrender, then to man in sacrifice.

– Lilias Trotter