Day 3- Confessions of a Pastor's Daughter

A question that follows me around quite a lot is, “How does it feel being a pastor's daughter?” I often answer by saying, “I don’t know. It’s all I know, so I have nothing much to compare it to.” In as much as there is so much truth in that, I believe I do have an idea of what my life as a ‘non-pastors’ daughter would look like.

As a young lady I have since come to understand that my father is a man who sacrifices a lot, but it is not often that one gets to know that because he does it without complaint. He is such a cheerful man to the extent that when something is bothering him, when he is tired, or unwell it is easy to tell. He is so friendly, has a great sense of humour, he is a handsome man (kudos to my mother, great taste!), he is ever so generous, wise, the best person to cook a meal for (I have cooked him uncountable meals and there has never been a day that he has not finished his serving) and he is one of my bestest friends. My father is a great man. The most gifted Preacher I know. He is a great example of a godly man. Bless his heart.

When I was born, my father was already serving as Pastor. He is dedicated to his calling as an ambassador of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what did this mean for me? How did this affect my growing up?

Being a pastors daughter meant that I had to share my father with uncountable people. My father has the biggest, most welcoming heart. To the point where he just needs to chill. It’s a good thing till you wake up and realize that we are a little too many in the inner circle. If you are a fellow girl, you probably understand that every now and then it kind of makes you feel like you have no special place in his life and are just a mere person in the crowd with everyone else. 

My father has a pretty serious itinerant ministry. If you follow him on Facebook, you will see that he is almost always on his way somewhere. Growing up, I never liked having him away. I’m pretty much an adult now and I still don’t. My mother is a much bigger woman than I am, she handles his absence like a champ and I am so inspired. His ministry travels and many other callings have sometimes meant missed graduations, many nights without him home, missed birthdays and so much more.. but hey who is counting? 

For the first 19years of my life my family and I lived in the manse. This meant not as much privacy as there was a school running and church staff 5 days a week. I particularly remember the time my oldest brother and I decided to be adventurous. He knew how to drive but he hadn’t got his drivers license yet. I had to go somewhere and he decided that he would take me using mum's car. She wasn’t around. So we drove off and we were so hyped and excited. Before we knew it we were getting a call from dad’s office assistant summoning us to take the car back. So basically, the gardener ran to her to tell her we had left with mum’s car, she called mum and mum told her we didn’t have permission and she called us back home. As they say, the rest was history. Oh! The joys of living on church premises! 

To make it seem like it was such a nightmare would be unfair of me. Through my father’s ministry, both home and pulpit, I have grown spiritually. I have been blessed to be raised in a home with the Bible as my life guide. I have met amazing people of whom some have since become dear to me. There is always a theologian on call. I get free counseling from the wisest man on earth. Also, goodies when he travels!

The truth of the matter is, on this earth everything comes secondary to putting God first. The reasons why having a father for a pastor has been challenging to me is that it has taken certain comforts in this life away from me. Is sacrificing these comforts for the sake of my Savior the Lord Jesus Christ worth it? Yes. Do I wish my father was around more? Yes. Do I wish his life wasn’t so crowded? Yes. Do I wish I grew up in a fenced yard with more privacy? Yes. Often times I focus so much on what I am missing or missed out on but each time I look at the bigger picture, I am left glad to be the daughter of a Pastor who is dedicated to spreading Gods word, even if it sometimes calls for my uncomfortability.