Huh?

So I'm puttering away on my first assignment and one of the questions I have to respond to with regards to this book is: "Articulate your own sense of Christian calling and define how this relates to your current occupation". Um...ok. I think I can come up with something intelligent to say about my own sense of Christian calling (I haven't actually done that yet;), but relating that to my current occupation. Hmmm. Not exactly sure what I would say my current occupation is. Homemaker, mom, housewife or as my dear husband likes to joke, domestic goddess? This question has got me thinking about how I feel about my current occupation. And does that occupation have anything to do with a calling specific to me?

The chapter that resonated with me in particular was "The Audience of One". I suppose the way I most refer to my "occupation" is that of being a stay-at-home mom. Quite honestly, I can fill my day with all sorts of things. Ordinary, thankless, mind-numbingly boring, repetitive, messy things. What gives those things significance? My audience. According to Guiness "... no single human audience is my sole, natural audience". Can I just say that reminder humbles and excites me? It humbles me because in the midst of my ordinary existence I am reminded that what I do each day does make a difference if to no one else but God. Whether I approach each day with a sense of dread or tackle each day with a desire to strive for excellence matters to God. When I find every excuse to procrastinate and slide by in the role I've been given I am not the only one who knows that I'm hoarding the gifts He created in me. That's humbling. On my best days it inspires me to continue on in the journey of figuring out what exactly God's specific calling in my life is. On a whole lot of other days I wonder why in the world God would even bother with me...I know, we're working on that stinky attitude together:)

The other thought that jumped off the page at me is this:

"The truth is not that God is finding us a place for our gifts but that God has created us and our gifts for a place of his choosing – and we will only be ourselves when we are finally there. " (Guiness, 46).

Really? That's a comforting thought. I'm not sure that I'm there yet, infact I'm fairly certain that I'm not. But this journey that God and I are on is enough for me today.