Not Just A Pastor’s Wife

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I guess I should start this blog off with a Public Service Announcement. I have written my entire life. Therefore, any conversations or visits you may share with me may very well be written about at a later date. It’s just something I’ve always done. Mrs. Dorothy Wiman came by to visit and cook with me the other day and had no idea that I would write about it. I think that’s what makes our visit and Mrs. Wiman so very special. She didn’t come over and visit with me for the blog. She called and wanted to visit with me because she’s such a mom; and felt I could use a little “loving on”.

I sat on my window seat and Mrs. Wiman baked. I listened and she talked. This woman has been around most of my life; but we had never visited like we did yesterday. Frankly, I had always just thought of her as the preacher’s wife. But yesterday, I got to see a different side. I got to know the woman, the dreamer, and the silly young girl that resides behind that porcelain face. While she separated egg yolks and sifted sugar, I got to learn a lot more than how to bake a chocolate pudding meringue pie. I got to get the full picture of a young girl’s dream manifesting into reality. You see, when Mrs. Wiman was barely a teenager, while other girls were dreaming about the cute boy in the back of the class, she was dreaming about traveling the world as a missionary. While other girls prayed that Billy would ask them to prom, she prayed that God would send her a man that would also want to be a missionary with her.

God answered her prayer on a blind date with Richard Wiman. Just a few months into their relationship, he was called to be a missionary. As excited as he was, he proclaimed, “I’m not going without you.” That was it. That was the proposal. Within a short amount of time, they were married and spent their honeymoon at missionary training! They spent their newlywed months serving as missionaries on the island of Grenada. Afterwards, they came back to the states; served in Mize, Mississippi and then got called to serve at Belzoni’s First Presbyterian Church. They expected to be here for about 5 years; but I guess God had different plans; because here she was 34 years later.

As a mother, you can recognize when a child needs a little special attention. Often, though, we don’t recognize that same need in adults too. That is what makes Dorothy Wiman such a gracious missionary; and more than just a preacher’s wife. Like the mama bird, shielding its young from the rain, she will quietly stand next to you and offer you shelter from the storm. Life is hard and complicated. And it is certainly a blessing when someone calls you, offers to come bake you a pie; and takes your mind off your problems for a little while. As she delicately frothed the meringue for the pie, Dorothy shared stories with me of women all over the world that she had shared her life and heart with. And when my girls and I sat down and around the kitchen table shoveling that chocolate pie into our mouths, I realized how special I felt that she shared a few hours of her day with me too. Quietly and graciously, she had missioned to me.

The spirit is the fuel tank to life. If filled with high-grade joy and enthusiasm, we can go full speed ahead. If filled with low grade, melancholy and regret, we will find ourselves broken down. My tank was almost empty, but Dorothy Wiman and her chocolate pie filled it right back up!

As I said, she had no idea I would be writing a blog about our visit. Therefore she didn’t come prepared with a written recipe. As she spoke from her heart, she baked the pie from memory. I tried to jot down the instructions as she was cooking; but I know I would never get it right. So, unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe to share. But, if I know Mrs. Wiman, just when your own tank starts to get low; if you’re lucky; she will show up at your backdoor to bake one for you too!