I must put up with my husband’s absence for a priest’s time belongs to the community; what little is left is for his wife and children.
I suffer from the physical and sometimes mental absence of my over-stretched husband. His work supposes evening and weekend activities, the very times when I am not busy. He takes just a few hours in the week to rest. We don’t have plans for long weekends or holidays, or for family leisure time. The fact is, I can’t plan anything since my life is like the wind: today, it is here, tomorrow elsewhere.
There are always difficult times to get through. I hold back my emotions and feelings so that my husband need only worry about the community’s problems and this is tough for I must confront loneliness. I must put up with my husbands emergencies. I must resolve my problems alone and have enough strength to overcome them with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is why I have a profound intimacy with God, which is matched with no other. He is my Best Friend.
My husband rarely has enough time to go out with the children, or even to relax. Spending more time together makes me feel in competition with God. And then I feel guilty.
The children need and want their dad to spend more time with them. When young children see how busy their father is most of the time, they feel neglected. The children resent the situation, which has a negative impact on the desire to become a priest like dad.