I remember when I said it to him. It was a few months after our daughter was born, and I was completely overwhelmed. I was unhappy with our marriage and was feeling unsupported. I told him I wanted us to get marriage counseling.

He didn’t want to. He was a youth pastor. How would it look if the pastor’s marriage was struggling?

I said I was going on my own if we didn’t go together.

But then we didn’t. And I didn’t. And we continued to struggle. Issues that we had been dealing with prior to having our baby were now exacerbated by the lack of sleep and complete upheaval to our normal routine.

About 3 months later, we started to attend the Alpha Marriage program at our church. That was a step in the right direction, but it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t until about 2 years later that we actually started some counseling with our pastor and his wife. When we did that, we started to see changes fairly quickly. Meeting with them a few times helped us to pinpoint the core of the issues we were experiencing, and they helped to guide us into a healthier place in our marriage.

I am so thankful that we finally took the step to actually get counseling. It was the push we needed to get things back on track and in our marriage.

But what stopped us from doing so when we initially needed it? And what can other pastor’s wives do if they are experiencing struggles in their marriage?

The Barriers to Getting Help when the Pastor’s Marriage Struggles:

1. Expectations

There seems to be a kind of false expectation on pastors and their wives to have it all together. People look up to their pastor, so if they knew that the pastor’s marriage was struggling, what would they think? I’m not sure whether this expectation is real or perceived, but I believe it is a barrier to many pastors seeking help for their marriage.

2. Pride

Despite the expectations that are out there, sometimes the thing that stops a pastor and his wife from seeking help is pride. Pride makes us feel like we DO need to have it altogether, even if we don’t. Pride makes us think that we are super important, and that we could be ruining someone else’s perception of God if we have a fault. How crazy is that?

3. Money

Finances may be another reason that pastors do not reach out for help in their marriage. If they are a senior pastor, or even an associate pastor, they may not want to bring their marriage issues to another staff member, understandably so.

However, this may mean that they need to go to an outside counselor, which often can be an added financial burden. There may be times that a pastor and his wife feel that they truly cannot afford counseling, even though it may be the most important investment for them.

4. Time

Of course, pastors and their wives are busy. They are often caring for other people’s needs and pouring out their time and energy to help their congregation. The problem is, this may leave them with little to no time to invest in their own marriage. They may feel they are too busy for marriage counseling, even if the other barriers are not there.

These are just a few of the potential barriers that could prevent pastors and their wives from seeking help when they have a struggling marriage. If you are a pastor’s wife, I am sure you can add other thoughts to this list.

So what if you know you need help? What can you do as a Pastor’s wife if your marriage is not where you’d like it to be?

Tips for Pastor’s Wives:

1. Discuss expectations with your spouse

As hard as it can be to do, I believe strongly that having an open and honest conversation about your marriage is a key to making changes.

Does your husband know you are hurting? Are your expectations too high of your spouse? Or is there are a real issue that needs to be addressed? Is there an issue to which he is simply unaware?

Often we expect our husbands to read our minds and know exact what is bothering us. This is not realistic or fair. We have to be willing to bring up the issues as well as acknowledge how our expectations may be playing a role in the marriage.

2. Be okay with disappointing others

When you are in ministry, it is inevitable that you will disappoint others. You will make choices that someone won’t agree with. Someone will think that you should have had a prayer meeting instead of go on a date night.

But guess what? No matter WHAT you do, you will disappoint someone. And as a family in ministry, your marriage MUST be your first priority after your relationship with Christ.

[bctt tweet= “As a family in ministry, your marriage MUST be your first priority after your relationship with Christ.”]

It is very easy for the responsibilities to the church to take over, and to end up putting your spouse last. This is not healthy nor is it Biblical. If you’ve fallen into the pattern of allowing church life to take over your life, and you are not maintaining your marriage and keeping it a priority, it’s time to reassess.

You must decide to be okay with disappointing others. It’s more important to keep your marriage than keep your church. Don’t get me wrong – I believe God calls people into ministry and that we must take that call seriously. But if your marriage is suffering because of your ministry, then something is off.

If you and your spouse begin setting up boundaries around your marriage and making it a priority, it may upset people in your church or even your family. Be okay with that.

3. Make the decision to invest in your marriage

Again, often pastors and their wives invest their own money in their ministry or other important causes, and this is often necessary or noble. However, I believe we need to decide that investing money into our own relationship as husband and wife is invaluable.

Recently I spoke with Christie, a mom involved in ministry, and she shared that both she and her husband had failed marriages prior to them getting married. What she now recognizes is that they “cannot afford NOT to have a babysitter” and go on date nights. After experiencing the pain and cost of going through a divorce, Christie feels that investing financially in your marriage is absolutely necessary.

4. Take time away as a couple at least annually

Getting away as a couple, especially when you’re in ministry, can be extremely challenging. It requires a lot of planning, making sure church duties are covered, and again, there is a financial cost as well.

If you can’t get away for an entire weekend, then at least take one overnight, or just a full day, to do this. Spending some extended quality time together can give you the chance to have the discussions that you put off on a day-to-day basis.

Every year, my husband and I go away on a marriage retreat. It’s become something we really look forward to, and one aspect that is especially helpful is evaluating our marriage and discussing where we need to make changes.

5. Get counseling

Yes, I’ll say this – even if you think “it’s not that bad”, do it anyway. It is so much easier to make adjustments to your marriage when things are just a little bit off rather than significantly challenging.

It’s kind of like taking a trip across country. If you make a wrong turn, and you’re just 10 miles off course when you realize it, it’s much simpler to get back on track than if you wait until you are 150 miles off course.

6. Pray

Often we underestimate the power and value of prayer. But I’ve heard numerous stories of restored marriages, and prayer is almost always involved! God can change hearts and draw people together more than any human actions can, so if you’re dealing with a challenging situation in your marriage, commit yourself to praying about it consistently.

7. Control what you can control

As a pastor’s wife, there may be times that you and your husband don’t see eye to eye. Perhaps he doesn’t want to get counseling, or do some of the other suggestions above. In that case, it’s time to simply focus on what you CAN control, rather than trying to change him.

What you can control is your own attitude and actions.

For me, this has been the hardest lesson to learn in my marriage. I always heard that it wasn’t possible to change your husband, but I still kept trying. Finally, I gave up trying and instead began focusing on myself.

I realized that I could change certain things that I was saying & doing – not just related to marriage, but also in terms of taking care of myself and my needs as a mom, growing spiritually, and pursuing things that I enjoyed. When I started doing that, I truly started to see changes in my marriage.