Every once in a while, we experience a watershed moment. This summer, Isaac Anderson gave a sermon at Heartland about our longing for purpose. After chronicling his own ups and downs, he led us to look at the life of David, who though King and leader of Israel, wrote his most beautiful and possibly well known psalm from his years as a shepherd. It was there, in his mundane, lonely experience of tending sheep, David glimpsed most clearly who God is.
Which got me thinking; where have I seen God most profoundly in my life? Regardless of what I set out to be or hope to become, where have I landed, and what has God shown me in my mundane, regular, sometimes solitary place? As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, it would be as a homemaker, a housewife, a CEO of a household. However I need to dress it up to make it sound more significant, more ambitious, then I sometimes fear it’s not, bottom line is, I have seen the Lord as I’ve cared for the needs of my family. And this is what I’ve learned…
The Lord is my Homemaker, I shall not be alone.
He makes me lie down when I am tired, and sings me safely to sleep.
He provides all I need, be it food or clean clothes or shelter from the outside world.
He runs errands on my behalf, relentlessly chasing my scurry away.
He picks up my messes and covers my slack,
He assigns me chores.
He makes plans and play dates and keeps my schedule running in his direction.
He reminds me I am loved.
He watches over me, sharing wisdom when I’m wounded or simply at a loss.
He gives me people to practice patience and unkind circumstances to develop joy.
He leads me on adventures, making each of my footsteps firm.
He allows ambiguity, answering questions in order of importance.
He commits to me in failure, so I learn to embrace grace. He forgives me, and we move on.
He secures my heart through disappointment, unwinding tangled strings.
He prepares me for my days, the one about to begin, and the one that seems so faraway.
He calculates my growth, knowing what maturity will cost.
He calls me by name, assuring me I am his when storms or my hormones rage.
He dreams big for me. Honing my skills and developing talent; all that I desire, all that I enjoy, he never misses even one opportunity.
He helps me. He consoles me. He listens to me. He encourages me.
He delights in me and the interests we share.
He pursues me exactly.
He smiles when I laugh, intercedes when I cry, corrects when I rebel.
The Lord is my homemaker, I shall not be alone.
I wouldn’t trade any of life’s loftier goals, for that of knowing Christ in the everydayness of life.
~Elizabeth D.
