To all of us who have found ourselves in either of these clans, the clans of Sewot and Noduh. Whether we wonder how our current position helps (Say WHAT?!) or are the chosen few whose path is obvious (No DUH!!), may we all learn to trust the King's lead and assignment in every area of our lives and come to know the secret of contentment.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sweat poured down her furrowed brow as she vigorously sloshed the dripping mop over the cobbles, mimicking the way the dirty water trickled along the cracks in the street. Her dirty-blonde bangs fell in front of her eyes again and she impatiently swept them back. The sun beat down on her, one lone figure in the middle of a small town, in the middle of a large kingdom.
Fighting the urge to straighten and gaze down the length of street she knew she needed to get done, she dropped her head even more and stared instead at the end of the mop. Swish swish, it droned. Swish. Its hypnotic rhythm almost lured her to a stop. But slowing down broke the rhythm and, shaking herself awake, she picked up speed. Strange, how working so vigorously could enervate a person rather than invigorate.
Slowly, stone by stone, her bare feet and battered mop made their way down the street. An occasional hale from a passerby would bring a brief stir of human interaction and the ring of horses’ shoes would occasionally break the silence of the hot summer’s afternoon. Besides these, however, her companionship was with her mop. Her mop, and her thoughts.
She tried to remember back to what she used to do before receiving this assignment. That felt so long ago, though she knew in her head it was but a brief span of her life thus far. But the longing she now held in her heart to return to previous days of hustling about in important business made it feel like a century had passed. Then was a time of collapsing into bed every night with a feeling of great accomplishment. Of focused determination during the day. Of excitement as she woke. She had been a part of the envied and the scorned, the clan of Noduh, the important, the obvious. Her life had been filled with purpose and plans not her own. But now…
Swish swish swish… A gratitude invoking breeze softly added its chorus to that of the mop, pushing some of last year’s dry leaves along the path. The rustle joined the swish and they droned together.
Then the clatter of rushing hooves and excited shouts! She could hear them around the corner, headed straight for the square! Eagerly her eyes sought them, focusing intently on those few gaps of space between the buildings. What was the cause for such haste? She wondered. And who were they who rushed in with such urgency? Surely it must be something of great importance. Oh that she could leave her duties to see and partake of that which she could hear so clearly!
A brief flash of blacks and brown filled the focus of her gaze, and then she saw only people as the square filled with the citizens of the town. Carpenters still held their tools, housewives carried both little children and their knitting, and even the butcher strode past, still holding a chicken whose moments of life had been prolonged. Hesitantly, she looked down at her mop. The length of street looked so long. And so dull.
A trumpet sounded in the square. Then a voice rang out… with sudden determination, she slung her mop over her shoulder and ran towards the square. As she rounded the corner and joined the quieting crowds, all eyes focused on one man.
His armor shone in the sun, a brilliant silver. He sat his horse atop the square’s central stage, so important and regal looking. His eyes were sharp and focused, and sparkled fiercely. As she looked on him, she recognized everything about his position. The look in his eyes used to be hers. The importance he was now feeling used to be hers.
“People of the Kingdom!” his voice rang out loud and strong, crystal clear to all in the square. “Know that today is the change of assignments! Each citizen is to pay heed to this document…” and he raised a scroll high in the air, “and change their current occupation accordingly. All assignments, as always, come from direct order of the King, long may He live!”
“Long live the King of Kings!” the crowds responded.
Turning his steed, the man flicked his wrist, sending the scroll unrolling into the crowd and tacked the end to the Assignment Post. A murmur started somewhere and gradually built as people pushed and shoved towards the scroll, eager to see what their assignment was.
But she didn’t need to push and shove to get their. The end of the scroll unrolled right at her feet. In that moment, all else faded. The groans of the citizens who saw the red mark of Sewot by their name, the cheers of the excited who saw the blue of Noduh, and the clop of the horses hooves, all fled her consciousness. Did she dare glance down? Did she really want to know what her new assignment was? She trembled, lest she saw again the red. Tears filled her eyes as the longing built, and she glanced up at envy as the man on horseback approached. He saw her glance and held her gaze. Finally, more because she knew she would have to eventually than because she wanted to, she looked down.
There it was. Her name. Right at the bottom of the list. And right beside it… the red mark. Sewot. The clan of the overlooked. The unappreciated. The misunderstood. Her.
The tears that had filled her eyes before now spilled over onto her sun burnt cheeks. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt at comforting her disappointed self. How long would she be here? So much potential was bottled up inside of her, and so much good she could do with Noduh was being wasted! It was so unwise of the King, long may He live! So unwise! She could do so much more…
Over time she became vaguely aware of a hand on her shoulder. Trying to sniff away her pain and viciously wiping away her tears, she looked up. And there he was. The one she so unreasonably hated in this moment.
She couldn’t quite read his face at this moment. It wasn’t pity in his eyes, nor was it scorn. It was if he felt her pain, but refused to recognize it as legitimate. And he was amused. And excited. All at once.
“Madam,” his voice was all tenderness, but was joined with an urgency she didn’t understand. “I know what you are feeling. I was not always in Noduh, as you once were. And I have suffered the transfer from this assignment I am now in to one like yours. There are few things more difficult to stomach than seemingly trivial tasks after having taken on the world for your King.” He paused and looked into the distance, collecting his thoughts. When he looked back into her eyes her tears were flowing again, and he cleared his throat. “But in all my years,” and he took off his shiny helmet, revealing his graying hair, “I have never known the King to make a mistake.” He took her chin in his hand and stared intently into her eyes. “Trust Him, my dear. He does know your potential. He does know your longing to serve Him in the more dangerous affairs of the Kingdom. And He does not scorn those things. But this time… this period in Sewot… will test you like Noduh never will. It will prove your steadfastness to His call on your life, no matter the occupation. It will challenge your ability to stay faithful; not by the resistance you experience from outside, but by the resistance you face in your own heart. And never think, for one moment, that the service you render as a member of Sewot is unnecessary or less important than what you rendered as a member of Noduh. Those are only feelings… do not believe them.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His look grew tenderer and he smiled. “And above all, do not think that the King is finished with you. He has not forgotten, nor are His plans complete in your regard. The King never forgets, and when you have completed all the assignments He has for you, He will come for you and take you with Him to His paradise.” His smile grew wider. “So mop strong and skillfully, madam, that the King may see how ardently you love and trust Him!”
Through the tears she saw him disappear around the corner. The buzz of voices gradually faded, and she was left alone. Her, her mop, and her thoughts.
She looked down. Her name. Sewot. Joined together once again. She looked at the mop, now dry in the afternoon heat. She looked past the buildings to her assigned street, still unfinished. And then she looked beyond, to the hills on the other side of that street. And she saw the palace of the King, and she walked as close as she could get, and started mopping.
Swish. Swish.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sweat poured down her furrowed brow as she vigorously sloshed the dripping mop over the cobbles, mimicking the way the dirty water trickled along the cracks in the street. Her dirty-blonde bangs fell in front of her eyes again and she impatiently swept them back. The sun beat down on her, one lone figure in the middle of a small town, in the middle of a large kingdom.
Fighting the urge to straighten and gaze down the length of street she knew she needed to get done, she dropped her head even more and stared instead at the end of the mop. Swish swish, it droned. Swish. Its hypnotic rhythm almost lured her to a stop. But slowing down broke the rhythm and, shaking herself awake, she picked up speed. Strange, how working so vigorously could enervate a person rather than invigorate.
Slowly, stone by stone, her bare feet and battered mop made their way down the street. An occasional hale from a passerby would bring a brief stir of human interaction and the ring of horses’ shoes would occasionally break the silence of the hot summer’s afternoon. Besides these, however, her companionship was with her mop. Her mop, and her thoughts.
She tried to remember back to what she used to do before receiving this assignment. That felt so long ago, though she knew in her head it was but a brief span of her life thus far. But the longing she now held in her heart to return to previous days of hustling about in important business made it feel like a century had passed. Then was a time of collapsing into bed every night with a feeling of great accomplishment. Of focused determination during the day. Of excitement as she woke. She had been a part of the envied and the scorned, the clan of Noduh, the important, the obvious. Her life had been filled with purpose and plans not her own. But now…
Swish swish swish… A gratitude invoking breeze softly added its chorus to that of the mop, pushing some of last year’s dry leaves along the path. The rustle joined the swish and they droned together.
Then the clatter of rushing hooves and excited shouts! She could hear them around the corner, headed straight for the square! Eagerly her eyes sought them, focusing intently on those few gaps of space between the buildings. What was the cause for such haste? She wondered. And who were they who rushed in with such urgency? Surely it must be something of great importance. Oh that she could leave her duties to see and partake of that which she could hear so clearly!
A brief flash of blacks and brown filled the focus of her gaze, and then she saw only people as the square filled with the citizens of the town. Carpenters still held their tools, housewives carried both little children and their knitting, and even the butcher strode past, still holding a chicken whose moments of life had been prolonged. Hesitantly, she looked down at her mop. The length of street looked so long. And so dull.
A trumpet sounded in the square. Then a voice rang out… with sudden determination, she slung her mop over her shoulder and ran towards the square. As she rounded the corner and joined the quieting crowds, all eyes focused on one man.
His armor shone in the sun, a brilliant silver. He sat his horse atop the square’s central stage, so important and regal looking. His eyes were sharp and focused, and sparkled fiercely. As she looked on him, she recognized everything about his position. The look in his eyes used to be hers. The importance he was now feeling used to be hers.
“People of the Kingdom!” his voice rang out loud and strong, crystal clear to all in the square. “Know that today is the change of assignments! Each citizen is to pay heed to this document…” and he raised a scroll high in the air, “and change their current occupation accordingly. All assignments, as always, come from direct order of the King, long may He live!”
“Long live the King of Kings!” the crowds responded.
Turning his steed, the man flicked his wrist, sending the scroll unrolling into the crowd and tacked the end to the Assignment Post. A murmur started somewhere and gradually built as people pushed and shoved towards the scroll, eager to see what their assignment was.
But she didn’t need to push and shove to get their. The end of the scroll unrolled right at her feet. In that moment, all else faded. The groans of the citizens who saw the red mark of Sewot by their name, the cheers of the excited who saw the blue of Noduh, and the clop of the horses hooves, all fled her consciousness. Did she dare glance down? Did she really want to know what her new assignment was? She trembled, lest she saw again the red. Tears filled her eyes as the longing built, and she glanced up at envy as the man on horseback approached. He saw her glance and held her gaze. Finally, more because she knew she would have to eventually than because she wanted to, she looked down.
There it was. Her name. Right at the bottom of the list. And right beside it… the red mark. Sewot. The clan of the overlooked. The unappreciated. The misunderstood. Her.
The tears that had filled her eyes before now spilled over onto her sun burnt cheeks. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt at comforting her disappointed self. How long would she be here? So much potential was bottled up inside of her, and so much good she could do with Noduh was being wasted! It was so unwise of the King, long may He live! So unwise! She could do so much more…
Over time she became vaguely aware of a hand on her shoulder. Trying to sniff away her pain and viciously wiping away her tears, she looked up. And there he was. The one she so unreasonably hated in this moment.
She couldn’t quite read his face at this moment. It wasn’t pity in his eyes, nor was it scorn. It was if he felt her pain, but refused to recognize it as legitimate. And he was amused. And excited. All at once.
“Madam,” his voice was all tenderness, but was joined with an urgency she didn’t understand. “I know what you are feeling. I was not always in Noduh, as you once were. And I have suffered the transfer from this assignment I am now in to one like yours. There are few things more difficult to stomach than seemingly trivial tasks after having taken on the world for your King.” He paused and looked into the distance, collecting his thoughts. When he looked back into her eyes her tears were flowing again, and he cleared his throat. “But in all my years,” and he took off his shiny helmet, revealing his graying hair, “I have never known the King to make a mistake.” He took her chin in his hand and stared intently into her eyes. “Trust Him, my dear. He does know your potential. He does know your longing to serve Him in the more dangerous affairs of the Kingdom. And He does not scorn those things. But this time… this period in Sewot… will test you like Noduh never will. It will prove your steadfastness to His call on your life, no matter the occupation. It will challenge your ability to stay faithful; not by the resistance you experience from outside, but by the resistance you face in your own heart. And never think, for one moment, that the service you render as a member of Sewot is unnecessary or less important than what you rendered as a member of Noduh. Those are only feelings… do not believe them.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His look grew tenderer and he smiled. “And above all, do not think that the King is finished with you. He has not forgotten, nor are His plans complete in your regard. The King never forgets, and when you have completed all the assignments He has for you, He will come for you and take you with Him to His paradise.” His smile grew wider. “So mop strong and skillfully, madam, that the King may see how ardently you love and trust Him!”
Through the tears she saw him disappear around the corner. The buzz of voices gradually faded, and she was left alone. Her, her mop, and her thoughts.
She looked down. Her name. Sewot. Joined together once again. She looked at the mop, now dry in the afternoon heat. She looked past the buildings to her assigned street, still unfinished. And then she looked beyond, to the hills on the other side of that street. And she saw the palace of the King, and she walked as close as she could get, and started mopping.
Swish. Swish.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
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