Ministers’ Wives
H.W. Pope
A quiet observer sees many wise things,
And that’s why this writer so frequently sings;
He notes that since preachers have arduous lives,
God saves the best girls for ministers’ wives.
She keeps down expenses and pays up their dues,
And cheers up her husband when he has the blues.
She tends her own babies and some others, too,
And nurses and cheers many sick women through.
She’s here and she’s there, all over the town,
With a bright sunny smile and never a frown;
She coaxes wild fellows to slacken their pace,
To find a good wife, and better the race;
She mothers the girls who’re inclined to flirt,
Helps cover the neck and lengthen the skirt;
She’s kind to the poor and nurses the sick,
And encourages people through thin and through thick.
Her husband comes first in all of her plans,
Although she’s a sister to every good man;
She tells him his sermon’s a little too long,
And that Johnson’s new clerk has been going wrong;
Her home is a refuge to all the oppressed,
And come when they may, they find her well-dressed.
All classes declare she has blessed their lives,
And say that none equal these ministers’ wives.
Don’t pity your preacher, but pay him his dues,
And heed what he says and bury bad news;
Someday a great sorrow may come to your home,
And then you will find that he’s doubly welcome.
And if in your house some dear one should die,
He’ll point the way plainly to Jesus on high;
His tender devotion, his prayer and his love,
Will seem like a blessing from heaven above.
In public and private, you’ll find him the same,
The friend of all classes, of whatever name;
He tries to be helpful, but sometimes he fails;
When he points out men’s sins he’s often assailed.
Be fair in your judgment, be honest, sincere,
And none will come to your heart quite so near;
If preachers are blessings, sometimes in disguise,
Remember, it’s due to these ministers’ wives.
