This post could actually be called “Becoming a Mary in a Martha world”! Now if you have devotions every morning with a nice hot cup of coffee and your children are quiet, your house is clean, and your laundry is caught up, get off this post now!!! However, if your devotion is sometimes hurried or perhaps happens in the car on the way to school, the house is just short of disaster mode and your laundry looks like you are playing a game of king of the hill, you are my people keep reading!! I have been giving a great deal of thought to Mary and Martha lately and I have to say I think Marth gets a bit of a bad wrap!! (Stay with me!! I am in no way disagreeing with scripture, just bringing some thoughts about how we today could find ourselves as moms in this same boat.) Yes Mary was at the feet of Jesus doing what she needed to do, but Martha… sweet Martha was cooking, cleaning and preparing for THE LORD. You surely cannot serve the King of the World anything less than perfection.
I picture Martha always working around the house and cooking and preparing for folks to come in, and this guest was something special!! I thought about my own little corner of the world and maybe you too can relate. I kind of feel like things are never quite complete. The sink never seems to be completely empty (someone is always thirsty) and the laundry is never all the way done (there are six of us and gracious sometimes I think we have an extra family living in the shadows with all the laundry there is to do!!). For us moms, home seems to be a reflection of us, or at least we view it that way and mercy sakes if you are like me and you like to have company it just never seems “finished.” There is much condemnation that we put on ourselves that is in no way from the Father. Maybe this was Martha too.
So how do we fix it? In our daily lives with everything that we “have” to do, how do we get to the “need” to do like Mary. How do we train ourselves to put down the sponge or the laundry basket and meet the King of Kings everyday? How do we get from the “have to do” space to the “need to do” space? I kind of see Martha as the “have to do” and Mary as the “need to do.” We could look at it like we “have” to do laundry but we “need” to read the Word.
I would love to tell you that the “have to’s” will go away, but reality is that there will always be more to do, always things that try to pull us away from God’s word, but when we choose to just stop and read and pray and listen, He speaks. He speaks and says that you are enough, you are chosen, you are worth dying for. The cross was and is redemption and friend HE did that for you and for me. He paid a price we could not pay to wipe away sin. Please don’t let that get lost in the everyday. I thinks sometimes we lose the gravity of sin and the space that would have seperated us had it not been for the cross. He covered that space with grace and mercy just like He can cover that space between “have to” and “need to.” He is a mere whisper away. The mention of His name stills waters and calms fears and can restore a soul. The Christian walk is meant to be just that, a walk. We are called to “live” out the gospel. The Bible says “go and make disciples.” God filled the Bible with promises, enough for every day. I think He knew we would have struggles.
Seeking His kingdom first is where we miss the mark sometimes. We try to handle everything ourselves without His power. He is our source of power and joy and strength. His word is where we find direction for our everyday. He speaks and covers the space between “have to” and “need to,” we need only to seek Him. Seeking Him in our daily lives may look different for each of you reading this post, but the point is to seek. I hope this encourages someone reading it to know that God hears you, He sees you in your struggles. He is ready to speak and He can be found, if we just seek!!!
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” Matthew 6:33
Priceless 