for the Martha girls...
2015 has been good to us. We've had one of the busiest years on record. I know I say that at the end of every year, but I am certain this one takes the cake. This has been such a busy year that I can't really remember what all we accomplished because it has been a blur. The days and weeks have run together, and if it weren't for Instagram, I wouldn't remember what we did for the first 8 months of the year. Thankfully, I did a decent job documenting the highlights, so we can recall those moments and when they occurred. Social media can definitely come in handy when time flies by.
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42
It's not like Jesus wasn't busy. He was being pulled in a million directions, but Jesus knew how to prioritize. How to stay focused so he could accomplish the mission for which he came. Always on the go, Jesus made time to stop by and see Mary and Martha. Mary the sitter and Martha to doer. And yet maybe the reason Jesus dropped in was not so that Martha would have more to do, not to keep her busy, but so that she'd be still. So she'd slow down. Maybe Jesus dropped in to help Martha see the beauty of becoming a little more undone.
I wish with all my being that I was a Mary. A sitter. A listener. But I'm a Martha. A doer. A talker. I always have something to say, and I always have something to be concerned about. Something I always want to fix, to do, to complete. A task list to check off. A sticky note to throw away. Doing, and when I'm not doing, I feel guilty. Even when I am doing, I feel like maybe I should be doing more. Doing better.
During Aaron's and my first year of marriage, I would often tell him that he should have married someone else. I'd say, "You should have married so & so, she's so sweet and quiet." Because, let's be honest, it's the quiet ones that we don't have to worry about. They aren't the ones having to eat crow or sticking their foot in their mouths. They aren't the ones constantly having to repent and ask for forgiveness. So I'd be lying if I told you that I haven't spent many days of my life wishing I could find out a way to become more of a Mary and less of a Martha.
But don't get me wrong. Martha girls matter, too. We can't all be Mary's. If we were, everyone would sit and no one would do, and that just wouldn't work. So I have to remind myself that if God wanted me to be a Mary, I would have been a Mary. But he made me a Martha girl who struggles against the desire to do and say and will fight those desires for the rest of my life. It's the fight of realizing that it's okay to occasionally be undone. It's okay to sit and listen. It's okay not to always have something to say... or to have to say something. That if a Martha girl can find a way to still and quiet her doing long enough to sit and listen to the Lord, then her doing and saying will not be in vain.
Martha opened her home to Jesus. She welcomed him. She made room for him. She wanted his nearness. She wanted to serve him, to bless him. But Mary knew the benefit of stopping, sitting, and listening. Of soaking up Jesus. Of taking advantage of his presence. Of dwelling, of learning, of giving him her full time and attention rather than being concerned about small things that might not matter in the long run. And that's precisely what I feel the Lord is asking of me this year. That 2016 wouldn't just be a Martha year, but it would also be a Mary year. A year of dwelling, of listening, of stopping, of seeking. Of figuring out how to welcome him, make room for him, invite him into every area of my life but not become so consumed with doing that I get distracted, distant, or lost in details that don't draw me closer to his side.
Last night at midnight, Aaron and I sat on our bed, hand in hand, and we thanked the Lord for 2015 and for all of the mercies, goodness, and grace that he poured out on us. And we prayed for 2016, for whatever he has in store for us. And for once, it was good to leave it at that. To invite him into this new year and then leave him the room to move and work as he pleases. And so this year, I'll try to listen before I do. To sit before I move. And I trust that by doing so, I'll discover the only thing worth being concerned about.
"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42
It's not like Jesus wasn't busy. He was being pulled in a million directions, but Jesus knew how to prioritize. How to stay focused so he could accomplish the mission for which he came. Always on the go, Jesus made time to stop by and see Mary and Martha. Mary the sitter and Martha to doer. And yet maybe the reason Jesus dropped in was not so that Martha would have more to do, not to keep her busy, but so that she'd be still. So she'd slow down. Maybe Jesus dropped in to help Martha see the beauty of becoming a little more undone.
I wish with all my being that I was a Mary. A sitter. A listener. But I'm a Martha. A doer. A talker. I always have something to say, and I always have something to be concerned about. Something I always want to fix, to do, to complete. A task list to check off. A sticky note to throw away. Doing, and when I'm not doing, I feel guilty. Even when I am doing, I feel like maybe I should be doing more. Doing better.
During Aaron's and my first year of marriage, I would often tell him that he should have married someone else. I'd say, "You should have married so & so, she's so sweet and quiet." Because, let's be honest, it's the quiet ones that we don't have to worry about. They aren't the ones having to eat crow or sticking their foot in their mouths. They aren't the ones constantly having to repent and ask for forgiveness. So I'd be lying if I told you that I haven't spent many days of my life wishing I could find out a way to become more of a Mary and less of a Martha.
But don't get me wrong. Martha girls matter, too. We can't all be Mary's. If we were, everyone would sit and no one would do, and that just wouldn't work. So I have to remind myself that if God wanted me to be a Mary, I would have been a Mary. But he made me a Martha girl who struggles against the desire to do and say and will fight those desires for the rest of my life. It's the fight of realizing that it's okay to occasionally be undone. It's okay to sit and listen. It's okay not to always have something to say... or to have to say something. That if a Martha girl can find a way to still and quiet her doing long enough to sit and listen to the Lord, then her doing and saying will not be in vain.
Martha opened her home to Jesus. She welcomed him. She made room for him. She wanted his nearness. She wanted to serve him, to bless him. But Mary knew the benefit of stopping, sitting, and listening. Of soaking up Jesus. Of taking advantage of his presence. Of dwelling, of learning, of giving him her full time and attention rather than being concerned about small things that might not matter in the long run. And that's precisely what I feel the Lord is asking of me this year. That 2016 wouldn't just be a Martha year, but it would also be a Mary year. A year of dwelling, of listening, of stopping, of seeking. Of figuring out how to welcome him, make room for him, invite him into every area of my life but not become so consumed with doing that I get distracted, distant, or lost in details that don't draw me closer to his side.
Last night at midnight, Aaron and I sat on our bed, hand in hand, and we thanked the Lord for 2015 and for all of the mercies, goodness, and grace that he poured out on us. And we prayed for 2016, for whatever he has in store for us. And for once, it was good to leave it at that. To invite him into this new year and then leave him the room to move and work as he pleases. And so this year, I'll try to listen before I do. To sit before I move. And I trust that by doing so, I'll discover the only thing worth being concerned about.
"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10
I love this post. I, too, am a Martha.
ReplyDelete