“Simple” is not very appealing to this world.
My intent when starting at USC law last year was plain: become a lawyer. However, as I began to find success, the career’s rewards became exceedingly enticing. When I was offered a position at the world’s most prestigious corporate firm, I immediately daydreamed about (and googled) dazzling watches, ocean front mansions, and ostentatious cars. I was more intoxicated by the satisfaction of finally getting to call myself a lawyer. Any thoughts of the crippling hours away from my beloved husband in a cutthroat industry that would relocate us from PCC to Orange County were ignored.
The week I was to accept my offer, my clinical anxiety, something I’ve lived with for years, began to flare up in a fury I have never experienced. I was about to fulfill my lifelong dream and provide for my family in unfathomable ways, so why couldn’t I eat or sleep? I took a few days off from class, praying it would subside, and offered to accompany Andrew and the students to our Winter Conference on a Friday when I would usually be studying. The passage? Jesus calling His disciples to leave their fishing boat, a lucrative business, and follow Him. I was awestruck by God’s timing. This job offer, but more so my need to be an attorney, was keeping me from following God more intently. So, I sat daydreaming about how God could move in my life if I offered Him more availability not only in my time, but my identity. The next day, I got out of my fishing boat and withdrew from school.
I am still passionate about the law. In fact, I now work at Carly McBurney and Hannah Tuttle’s firm in a supporting role where we advocate for children, not corporations. It’s not light stuff. We spend our days peering into the darkest parts of our broken world; and we do not have to look far to find God’s smallest, most vulnerable creations hurt by those called to protect them. A portion of my work is accompanying our young clients to testify in front of their abusers, usually their parents. I offer them small respite by taking them to lunch during the break. We’ll mostly discuss music or funny videos on TikTok. Sometimes, they’ll ask me what my husband does, and we will dive into a conversation about faith. These days are heartbreaking, but I often drive home praising God that he plucked me from USC and placed me in a dingy restaurant in the middle of nowhere with a kid who needed a friendly face. It is my small, simple ministry; and my life has never felt richer.
Katie Staffieri