Today we again highlight an excerpt from a Q&A passage on recently led with the students

at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia.

Here's a question asked by one of the students.

Hey Dr. Piper, I have a two-part question.

The first part is what are some of the most difficult challenges you've faced?

And I mean the whole gamut, life, ministry, everything.

And then part two, what has sustained you through those?

I think the biggest challenges you'll face in the ministry will very likely relate to

your family, your marriage and your children, maybe the wider family, depending on what

culture you're from.

That certainly has been true for me.

I've told my wife, well, we've married 45 years, I've said, all I need in the ministry

from you, is for you to be happy.

Because if mom ain't happy, and we've gone through really hard times, I mean, we've

spent one season, 33 months in counseling together, trying to figure out, why do we hurt each

other like this?

Why do our mouths do this to each other?

Then you get along okay for 10 years, and you need to work on it again.

We've had pretty battle to relationship.

I love her like crazy.

And she means, she said it to me.

But why?

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