on that thing about women

I was reading another blog I love, Rachel Held Evans' Blog, and she, of course, summarized so much more eloquently what I was fumbling and bumbling around in my post "Word to Your Mother". Evans basically repeated how Christian women shouldn't feel guilty about having a career OR staying at home with your children. God leads us in different paths because, well, He's sovereign God, and well, we're not. In Evans' words, "As a defense mechanism, we tend to elevate our own lifestyles as God’s will for all women everywhere.  If God’s presence is here, we reason, it must not be there." And she had what might just be one of my favorite new photos at the top of her blog. I stole it and put it at the bottom of this post, so please, friends, scroll on. You won't be sorry. 


The highlight of Evans' post, for me:

"Seeking God’s presence means recognizing that while God might inhabit a certain sphere, He is not contained to it. Though he may be found in pots and pans and communion wafers and poetry, He also transcends them. What works for a housewife in North Georgia might not work for a widow in Sub-Saharan Africa. How God is glorified in a single Lutheran girl from New York City might look a little different than how God is glorified in sprawling Catholic family in Mexico. 

When I categorically dismiss another woman’s lifestyle as irrelevant or unworthy in order to elevate my own, I am, in effect, placing limits on God. I am imitating Martha, who was so scandalized by Mary’s absence from the kitchen that she failed to see that her sister was reveling in the presence of a Savior. 

Some of my favorite lines of poetry come from Elizabeth Barrett Browning and go like this: 

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees takes off his shoes

The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.

God’s presence is everywhere. 

Faith isn’t about finding the right bush; it’s about taking off your shoes."

And now for the awesome picture.  Please don't think I'm judging anyone with this one, I just found it pretty much HILARIOUS. I think I might start telling Tucker that I just can't make dinner tonight since my dreams and goals are distracting me :)