Of Walmart and God's Calling

Our Super Walmart is a crazy place. Mysteriously, it is always crowded. It is a cross-cultural experience. It is a great training ground for virtues like patience and humility.

However, the one time (it seems) that it is not busy is early on Monday mornings, and therefore that is the time that Kristen and the boys typically do the weekly grocery shopping for our family. We usually have our regular morning routine all together, and then I leave for work at the same time they leave for the store (just before 8am). Kristen pulls out, then I pull out, and I follow them out of our court, down Gayton Road about a hundred feet, and then down Blue Jay Lane about a hundred feet, at which time Kristen turns right, and I keep going straight. That moment is often a defining moment in my week.

It's at that moment that I'm often awakened to the fact that we are called by God to do the things we are doing. In God's wise providence, He has called me to be a pastor (among other things), and He has called Kristen to be a mother/homemaker (among other things). She goes right, to Walmart. I go straight, to the church. We go our separate ways, but our ultimate purpose is not separate, but aligned: to glorify and enjoy God through the Spirit-empowered fulfillment of our God-given roles. Both callings, by God's appointment, are vital in the expansion of God's kingdom and are thus significant in His eyes. There are a million implications of this, but I'll leave that to you to think through.

Like I said, that moment is often a defining moment in my week. I'm grateful for it as a continual reminder, because boy do I need it.