Realities of a Preacher's Kid

     This is something i've been thinking about a lot lately (probably because i am one!), but i've noticed some things that are apparently different in the life of a person who is the child of a preacher. [Funny thing is, i'm not just a Preacher's kid, but i am also a Missionary kid as well as a home-schooled kid (mostly elementary), so i should really be one of the craziest/strangest people you've met, stereo typically.]

1. Mistakes Stand Out

     Let's look at Person A and B. Person A is a non-preacher's kid, while Person B is a preacher's kid. They both are given the same situation/circumstances. However, if Person A reacts negatively to his situation, it is deemed a 'normal response' while if Person B reacts in the same negative manner, it is seen as a crime of some sort. Now i am not saying that one kid is better than the other, but it almost seems as if having the label of a 'preacher's kid' grants that person a sort of 'not capable of doing wrong' perspective from other's eyes. It's as if the 'bar of expectations' is immediately raised for a preacher's kid in relation to everyone around them.
     Over the course of time, this has begun to make a lot of sense to me. From a non-preacher's kid perspective, you would expect a PK to be a lot more like their father/pastor figure, but the reality is: they are just another person. Sure, they might be raised differently, but we all learn and experience things in a similar manner anyway, even if it is through mistakes.

2. Some People Put On "Face" Around You

     This one probably gets to me the most. i can't say i speak for all Preacher's Kids when i say this, but i just want to have people be their real selves when they are around me. i don't want their behavior to temporarily change just because they are around a 'preacher's kid' so they have to act all 'churchy' when we hang out.
     Adults. i've noticed this a lot in some of them, too. If they see a preacher's kid, they usually change their behavior around them as well (i guess it's because they fear that if they make a mistake, the kid will tattle to the pastor and then they will be seen as horrible in the pastor's eyes). Other times it is as if they expect me to brag on them to my Dad (their pastor) if they speak of something 'seemingly significant' on a church-related subject. (Granted, i usually brag about the amazing things that people do anyway. i just don't always let that person know i bragged about them.)

3. Whatever Biblical Knowledge/Desire You Have Is Expected

     If someone meets someone who is consistently reading their Bible and seeking the things of God, they may be impressed or even inspired. However, i've noticed usually that if that person is a preacher's kid, it's seen more in the light of 'they are supposed to do that, it's not like they have a choice.' The truth is: we do.
     Any person can have the choice to learn more about God. Some people will devote many hours a day to learn and others will devote many more hours a day to not learn. That's fine.
     Sometimes i feel like less of an impact on others' lives because the answers/advice i give them based on the questions that they ask me is 'expected.' (i usually get this response, "i'm glad you're a preacher's kid, cuz i don't know who would know that." .....any Christ-following Christian would have an answer for you!) It's almost as if being a preacher's kid is a "Title" that grants knowledge and abilities that non-preacher's kids can not have.
     There have been a few points in my life that i wished that i was not a preacher's kid, so that my desire/knowledge of the Bible would seem more impressive and inspiring to others...but i can't be sure that if i grew up not being a preacher's kid, that i would even be interested in the Bible.


     Although these are just a glimpse of the things that i've realized in my life, i am aware that there are many more things that a preacher's kid experiences and can expect to encounter in their lifetime.

Oops

Do you ever have those moments when you think back on a situation of yours that was embarrassing or completely silly, walk yourself through it, and then cringe as if it happened again? Yeah, i do that quite a bit. In fact, i plan on telling you some of these instances. (i hope you enjoy a good laugh if nothing else is gained from this post).

One instance was back in 5th grade during a Christmas party thing. Everyone received a gift from someone else (the whole 'Secret Santa' shindig) and we all received a generic gift from the teacher. Our teacher gave us these cool little flashlight looking things (they had fiber-optic strings on the end of them and a light on the other). The gift i was given was a handheld racing game. Pretty fun, i have say. Anyway, i instantly began playing it and got in the zone (that gamer 'tunnel vision') and it just so happened that one of my classmates asked if they could see my gift. So, without hesitation, i handed her the light up gift. She had clearly stated she would like to look at the racing game, but in my distracted state, i assumed otherwise. It resulted in a few seconds of silence as i began to figure things out. Still kinda cringe when i think about it.

Another instance was during a class in middle school (must have been Literature or something) and the teacher was out of the room. i overhead a couple classmates complaining about a person, telling about a certain situation they were in. Well....i only heard a very small fraction of the story, and i immediately thought of a completely different situation about a completely different person, and wildly interrupting the two, i let them have it. i (in that half second moment) was completely proud of my ability to defend this person and their character, only to find out that i had made an idiot of myself. That one hits the Cringe-O-meter pretty hard.

Oyyy...this next one just proves how silly and....well, strange i can be. It happened to be senior year at prom. The music was set, people were thinking about dancing, but mainly just chatting. The main event and pictures had already taken place, so it was in the 'social slumber' stage where people were kinda lingering around waiting for something to happen. So a few two-stepping songs start to play and people dance again. Fun fun. Then a song that would work well for someone who knows how to break dance began playing (actually, it may have just been a regular song, and i assumed wrong, making myself to be even more of a silly idiot) and i thought, "Hey, this would be the perfect time to step up to the spot light and.....stand on my hands." Haha. i am very thankful at the politeness (or extremely quiet criticisms) which resulted from my 'performance.' And to make matters worse, i did it again. Yes, i am crazy.

Ok, that's all i can bear to reveal about my silly self and embarrassing mistakes of my past at this time. 

But i do have a point in all of this. i learned something valuable (in my opinion) from many, many, many instances such as these.....i'm alive and capable of these things. Yes, i do make extremely silly decisions from time to time, but i don't make the same one over and over. i have learned from them. 

So, if any of you who happen to read this can mildly relate...then relax. The vast majority of us do things that make us cringe at that moment and when we think back on it. It's life. Just focus on what's ahead, put the past behind you, and move on.

Learn from your past. Don't dwell on it.