Recently, a new friend was telling me about her 30-year career cleaning houses. It wasn’t a job she grew up wanting to do. As a single mom, she kind of fell into it as a way to support her daughter.
At least that’s how she thought of her job until about five years ago. At that time, she was really struggling to know why this was the life the Lord had for her. She was bending down in a corner of someone else’s bathroom cleaning up cat hair and suddenly it dawned on her. God could see her even in the corner. He knew where she was, and what she was doing. And in fact, he was there with her, guiding her and comforting her. Being in that corner was God’s calling for her life.
I have thought of this story every day since I heard it, especially yesterday as I was working on a Bible study of the Sermon on the Mount. We are just beginning to study what I now think of as the “secret passages,” where Jesus tells us we are supposed to pray and give and fast in secret. In the text of the Bible study book, the author brings up Hagar, after Sarai kicked her out of the house. The Lord came to Hagar when she thought know one knew where she was, and after that, she referred to Yahweh as “El Roi,” the God who sees.
It’s hard to be in the corner, believing we are all alone. Either we get discouraged and disallusioned, wondering why we ended up here in the corner. Or we get defensive and deceptive, feeling more like we are “being cornered” or “being sent to the corner” than just “being in the corner.” And in both cases, oh how good it is that God sees us.
Knowing God sees us in the corner, we understand that he has a good purpose for having us there. And he wants us to respond with holiness and integrity, even in the corner. And just like my friend, it’s actually God’s call in our lives that often lands us in the corner.
Ever felt like you were in a corner? Ever realized that God sees you while you’re there?
San — Thanks for stopping by, and glad you were blessed.
Craver — Funny how we can be in the corner and not even realize it. Hope today is better.
I sorta glossed over this yesterday, not knowing how to comment, wishing I could contribute affirmation or something, but there were no words coming out. The fact is, I was having a miserable time. It just hit me that it was an “in the corner” experience and when I finally absorbed the message, it was just what I needed.
I was totally blessed to read this today. Thank you. 🙂
For now — Loved your continuation of the metaphor by talking about “wedging yourself in.” I do this too.
Erin — One woman’s corner is another woman’s prayer closet. Add prayer to the corner, and it changes everything.
Christianne — Isn’t the not knowing so hard? It’s not so much not knowing why we end up in corners, but why THIS corner?
LM — Funny thing about the cat hair part of this story . . . I don’t have a cat either, partly because of how much I don’t like cat hair. When my friend added that detail to the story, it made it more real to me, the awful feeling of being in that corner of hers.
Musing — The notice of El Roi can make us feel so much bigger than the corners that we find ourselves in.
It was good to read all of your comments, to know that though we may be alone in THIS corner, we are not alone in the human tendency to often end up in corners! It’s good that we share these experiences with each other.
Ted’s and LL’s comments both rang true with me in that corners often feel bad but are very often good. The smallness of scale idea fits well into this thought too. It wasn’t until I felt cornered by some health and financial concerns that I finally realized the freedom of God’s calling for my life. The corner felt awfully small and confining at first, but in the end it brought liberty.
The first thought that came to me was, “Hey! THAT’S a neat twist on a prayer closet!”
I don’t like corners too much either, but what better to do while you’re there than enter into prayer and offering yourself and the situation as a living and holy sacrifice?
Just trying to find myself a good prayer closet in the midst of a life full of cat hair corners and dirty toilets.
Yes, I have been in the corner. Unfortunately, because of much fighting and arguing with God I was wedging myself deeper into the corner. When I remembered that not only was He there with me, but maybe, just maybe, it was HIS plan to have me there, was I able to truly seek Him and His purpose for “the corner time”. Thanks for reminding me of His constant presence.
Maybe the corner can act as an experience in “smallness of scale” (see today’s post)… perhaps this is not so negative as one might first think.
A hearty “amen” to all the comments above. That’s a powerful illustration. I can already tell that it’s going to stick with me as a reminder that God sees me in my own little corner when I’m feeling small and insignificant.
I like this thought, Charity. When it seems like we’re cornered in a bad way, maybe. We then have to remember that God sees us, and is there for us. And even has us, in that corner. I find that profound, and related to God’s working in my life lately. Thanks.
This is beautiful, Charity, and exactly what I needed to hear today. Many, many times I have felt like I’ve been in that corner, cleaning up cat hair. (And I don’t even have a cat.)
God sees.
WOW! Your thoughts are marvelous written here. And yes, I have most certainly felt like I was in a corner and didn’t know why . . . and God proved Himself faithful to see me, just like He saw your friend and He saw Hagar. Thanks for interweaving Hagar’s story into this; I never would have made the connection.