By Aubrey Sampson
Mooooommm, the potty
is raining!
I was on the phone with a web designer discussing the ever-elusive
“Platform,” when the toilet began to overflow. My three-year-old had crammed so
much toilet paper into the poor thing, that it had no choice but to transform
into a pressurized pop bottle, exploding. Everywhere.
Needless to say, I had to reschedule the phone call, putting
my social media presence on pause for another day.
There’s a saying in Jewish wisdom: “Keep two pieces of paper
in your pocket at all times. On one write, ‘I am a speck of dust.’ On the
other, ‘The world was created for me.’ ” The idea being that there is a
delicate balance between the holy and the ordinary.
I love to serve my family, but I am just as passionate about
my calling and ministry outside of the home. As a mom of three young children,
finding a way to maneuver that balance is at best untidy. I tiptoe out of bed
in the morning to study scripture and pray; if I’m going to be honest, I spend
most of that time praying my kids stay in bed a few minutes longer. I ardently
fight against injustice, making phone calls to senators and local leaders, but
only during naptimes. I mentor young women, but they have to brave the cheerio-laden
path to my kitchen table, while we talk about their own callings over the sounds
of car crashes and the smell of dirty diapers.
Women are shifting paradigms in leadership because no matter
our role—single, married, SAHM, working—we are thrust into lessons of
sacrifice, multi-tasking, and finding our voice in the midst of the daily. We know what it is to honor
our God-given vocations while simultaneously mastering the mundane. It is precisely
because of this unique training, not in spite of it, that women have something
commendable to bring to the public arena, the church, and the world.
In Luke 2, Mary sings, “My soul glorifies the Lord. My
spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state
of his servant.”
Today, as you walk your own tightrope of dust and divinity, rejoice!
For God is mindful of you. He is birthing something in you that is absolutely
commonplace, yet undeniably miraculous. It might be a birth in the midst of
potty-rain, but it’s still one worth celebrating.
Oh my gosh, this was so timely for me. I worry that wisdom will come in packages that might explode if I open them!
ReplyDeleteBut the explosion might be confetti, who knows? So it's worth opening.
Thank you for helping me take a deep breath today.
Great post Aubrey. Because we have our feet to the fire every day, there's so little chance for us to fall into pride. We face our limitations on an hourly basis! I love the metaphor: tightrope of dust and divinity.
ReplyDeleteI love the Jewish saying. It relates to the daily chaos in the midst of the treasure hunt for God's nuggets. That's the way life looks for all of us!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Aubrey. I loved this piece, and I think our readers at The High Calling will too. I highlighted it and shared it here: http://www.thehighcalling.org/hcb-community/work/walking-tightrope-dust-and-divinity#.Ua-fH9KceSo
ReplyDelete