Mary vs. Martha

Mary vs. Martha

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

- Luke 10:38-42

This is an almost daily battle for me.  My day starts with rolling out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom to take a shower.  Once that’s done, my eyes are usually open enough that I can manage to dress myself, then it’s off to the kitchen to pack my husband’s lunchbox for the day.  By the time he leaves for work, I have been out of bed for a little over an hour and can function somewhat like a human being.  At this point, I am faced with my daily struggle… do I go sit down in the living room with my Bible and dig in to the Word, or do I start tackling the mountain of housework that is always waiting for me no matter how much I get done the night before.

If you were to ask me, point blank, “Rebekah, which should you do?” the answer would be easy.  I should be like Mary and go sit down to have my quiet time with God.  However, when I look around my home in the morning, Martha starts to take over and I start thinking about the clean dishes that need to be put away, the laundry that is always there (six people can make a very large laundry pile very quickly, especially when one is a toddler learning to use the potty), planning out the steps that need to be done to have good nutritious meals and snacks, the preparation that needs to be done for the day/week’s schoolwork, etc.  These thoughts can get overwhelming, and my very human need to be in complete control of my environment often takes over.

I can get so caught up in what I think needs to be done that I forget about what God says I need to do.

When we have a specific part of our day set aside for Bible study and prayer, and actually DO it, we will grow steadily closer to God.  This will in turn affect the rest of the day.  The days I slip up and skip my quiet time are almost invariably the days that I lose my cool with the kids, that I get completely frustrated and overwhelmed in the kitchen, etc.  It’s when I sit down and read my Bible and spend time in prayer that I draw closer to Him.  That is when I can feel His gentle guidance more strongly throughout the day.  The kids and I may still “butt heads” over the things they don’t want to do, but I am able to handle that conflict with much more grace if I have spent time with God first that day.

When you look in the mirror each day, who do you see?  Do you see Martha, going about your daily chores and leaving no time for God?  Or do you see Mary, realizing that God should always come first, that the chores aren’t going anywhere and will still be sitting there patiently waiting for you to tend to them after your quiet time?