i have spent much of my life desiring more from my relationship with Jesus, feeling guilty for having less, and becoming complacent in my disappointment. It just doesn't seem possible to achieve the presumably quiet, contemplative life that Mary enjoys.
i love to teach and write and be with women, but there are only so many hours in the day. Our children are grown and we've begun a new chapter in our lives with them, but i will always be their mom...and now there are four! i have family that i love and i long for time to spend with them. i have friends that are neglected, too. There is a stack of books on my desk that grows almost weekly with "must-read" recommendations. Life is full. Expectations never stop. Every season is demanding.
i am distracted by things that have to be done. But you know this.
i have made attempts over the years to set priorities, organize my life, balance my schedule. i have used every tool on the market, both philosophical and technological. Balance eludes me. i wonder if it's even possible.
And sometimes i feel stuck. Right here. In this moment. In this snapshot. i am distracted. i am short-tempered. i am snappy with Jesus. Much like Martha....who reached the end of her hospitable rope and let Jesus have it.
"Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me."
Again, love this sister....while holding my breath, waiting.
WWJD? (Corny. i know. But you knew it was coming.) What will Jesus do? And that's important...i'll get to it. But first, what's really intriguing, what reveals much about Jesus and His love for Martha is what He does not do. (WWJND. i know i'm tampering with the near-sacred acronym. Coudn't be helped.)
"But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'"
Isn't it crazy that Jesus does not rebuke Martha for her impertinence? He does not scold her, demanding an explanation for her outburst. The infamous "mom" line would have served the Savior well here: "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN THAT TONE OF VOICE!"
Don't you think it's interesting that Jesus gave Martha the freedom to be frustrated?
It seems worth noting that i see images in some detail as i study this little family photo, but Jesus sees much more. He sees beyond the sepia toned expression on Martha's face. He sees more than the kitchen towel flung over her shoulder as her hands are placed on her hips in aggravation. To quote the Psalmist, Jesus "searches [Martha's] heart ... and knows her anxious thoughts..."
He knows the state of her soul, and He is more concerned for her distraction, her worry and anxiety than He is for her disrespect.
Psalm 51:6 is a reminder that Jesus "desires truth", even if its delivery is less than gracious.
Martha is safe with Jesus.
Safe to be frustrated.
Safe to be angry.
Safe to be discouraged.
Safe to be exhausted.
Don't you love Him for that?
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Distracted.
Leslie and i were driving to the beach to surprise my mom for her birthday. We stopped for gas and a snack, picking up our conversation right where we left off as i pulled back onto the highway. After about twenty minutes, i wondered out loud why the scenery looked vaguely familiar. Turning to my trusty GPS, i realized that i had been so distracted by our conversation that i had turned the wrong way on the highway and went back the way we had come.....rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! i wish that i could site that as unusual, but it's probably more typical than i'd care to admit.
Distractions. Email. Text messages. Worry. Facebook. Pinterest. TV. Fear. Blogs.
It's one of the reasons i love this story. Especially in this season these few verses resonate with pages from my own journal.
"Mary...sat at the Lord's feet listening to what [Jesus] said. But Martha was distracted..."
Distracted. "Unable to concentrate because one's mind is preoccupied."
Interesting that Martha's world was much less techno-savvy than mine, but she, too, was distracted.
And she's never lived that down.
i suspect that on some level Martha would have loved the privilege of joining Mary. i can imagine that it would have been a relief to sit for a while and enjoy the company. i wonder if she tried to concentrate on what the Savior was saying? If maybe she tried, briefly, to take a break and listen...only to be preoccupied....
Sounds familiar. How often have i determined to pray, started off highly engaged and, within minutes...lost. Yesterday, i picked up a worthy book to read just one chapter, and only made it through three pages. Sigh.
"Martha was distracted by all the preparation that had to be made..."
Here's a detail that most of us have missed as we've looked at this familiar photo over and over again. Luke [the author] describes Martha being distracted, preoccupied, by things that had to be done.
Pretty much every Sunday morning, i take the time to draw out my schedule on graph paper. People make fun of me for this because i do know how to use Outlook and i know i can actually print my calendar. But there is something helpful for me about actually drawing the calendar and using my colored markers to organize my week.
Martha had guests in her home. It was dinnertime. Typically, preparations for guests would have begun long before sunrise, but it is probable that Martha didn't know Jesus was coming with an entourage (not having the benefit of an "OMW" text*). There was water to be hauled and boiled, chickens to be killed and plucked, wine to be pressed and wheat to be ground. i don't expect that there was much "fluff".
Somehow i think we've pictured her making too much of things, as if she was trying to impress people. Like the other Martha of our day: whipping up a centerpiece out of twigs and berries, serving a decadent and magnificent meal, finished off with a refreshing but light dessert.
But that's not the way Luke pictures her.
Look at the photograph again. Martha was distracted by preparations that had to be made.
i feel such a sisterhood with this woman. Sigh. Again.
*code in our family for "on my way"
Distractions. Email. Text messages. Worry. Facebook. Pinterest. TV. Fear. Blogs.
It's one of the reasons i love this story. Especially in this season these few verses resonate with pages from my own journal.
"Mary...sat at the Lord's feet listening to what [Jesus] said. But Martha was distracted..."
Distracted. "Unable to concentrate because one's mind is preoccupied."
Interesting that Martha's world was much less techno-savvy than mine, but she, too, was distracted.
And she's never lived that down.
i suspect that on some level Martha would have loved the privilege of joining Mary. i can imagine that it would have been a relief to sit for a while and enjoy the company. i wonder if she tried to concentrate on what the Savior was saying? If maybe she tried, briefly, to take a break and listen...only to be preoccupied....
Sounds familiar. How often have i determined to pray, started off highly engaged and, within minutes...lost. Yesterday, i picked up a worthy book to read just one chapter, and only made it through three pages. Sigh.
"Martha was distracted by all the preparation that had to be made..."
Here's a detail that most of us have missed as we've looked at this familiar photo over and over again. Luke [the author] describes Martha being distracted, preoccupied, by things that had to be done.
Pretty much every Sunday morning, i take the time to draw out my schedule on graph paper. People make fun of me for this because i do know how to use Outlook and i know i can actually print my calendar. But there is something helpful for me about actually drawing the calendar and using my colored markers to organize my week.
- Office stuff - orange.
- Meetings with people - purple.
- Personal stuff - pink.
Martha had guests in her home. It was dinnertime. Typically, preparations for guests would have begun long before sunrise, but it is probable that Martha didn't know Jesus was coming with an entourage (not having the benefit of an "OMW" text*). There was water to be hauled and boiled, chickens to be killed and plucked, wine to be pressed and wheat to be ground. i don't expect that there was much "fluff".
Somehow i think we've pictured her making too much of things, as if she was trying to impress people. Like the other Martha of our day: whipping up a centerpiece out of twigs and berries, serving a decadent and magnificent meal, finished off with a refreshing but light dessert.
But that's not the way Luke pictures her.
Look at the photograph again. Martha was distracted by preparations that had to be made.
i feel such a sisterhood with this woman. Sigh. Again.
*code in our family for "on my way"
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Sisters...
Martha's most famous moment. Regardless of the many times that she had been a delightful hostess in the past, or how often she had managed on her own without her sister's help, this one moment when she lost her composure and demanded the Savior's attention, this is the one moment captured in time for women in future generations to contemplate.
"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 preparation that had to be made [sound familiar?]. She came to him and ask, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
If Martha had been asked to submit a snapshot for these pages of Scripture, i doubt she would have chosen the moment captured by Luke in these verses. It is clear that she has gotten off on the wrong foot right away. Having spent hours at the market, in the garden, and over hot coals preparing for their guests, Martha comes out of the kitchen wiping the sweat from her furrowed brow. As she makes eye contact with sister Mary, she sighs heavily. While she has been furiously working in the kitchen, Mary is seated comfortably at the feet of the Savior...hanging on to His every word.
Having reached the end of her hospitable rope, and clearly unable to guilt her sister into doing her share of the work by giving her "the look", Martha has had enough. i wonder what did it, don't you? i can imagine Martha bringing in the placemats to set on the table, and Mary --- just at that moment, sighing with content. Martha snapped.
And this is the photo that we've placed on the mantle of busy womanhood. Martha giving Jesus a "dressing down".
i can empathize. i have sisters, too,. My older sister had an aversion to doing dishes. Almost nightly, as we were excused from the dinner table to begin the chore of cleaning the kitchen, Leslie would declare an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Just as the soap bubbled up in the sink, she would disappear --- only to return as the last dish was dried and put away. (i suspect Leslie would tell the story differently...but it's my blog.)
The story is not told in great detail, but as we look at this one photograph, our imagination assumes that Martha was confidently brash and bold. Mary was quiet and unobtrusive. Martha was obssessed with preparations and busy-ness. Mary was a sanguine, reflective sister given to long hours of reading and daydreaming. Martha had a high standard of perfection. Mary was casual and laid back. Martha was so consumed with duty and details that she ignored her guests. Mary enjoyed the guests so much that she did not want to leave the gathering to help with the preparations.
Maybe. But that's alot of "concluding" from one snapshot.
To be continued.
"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 preparation that had to be made [sound familiar?]. She came to him and ask, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
If Martha had been asked to submit a snapshot for these pages of Scripture, i doubt she would have chosen the moment captured by Luke in these verses. It is clear that she has gotten off on the wrong foot right away. Having spent hours at the market, in the garden, and over hot coals preparing for their guests, Martha comes out of the kitchen wiping the sweat from her furrowed brow. As she makes eye contact with sister Mary, she sighs heavily. While she has been furiously working in the kitchen, Mary is seated comfortably at the feet of the Savior...hanging on to His every word.
Having reached the end of her hospitable rope, and clearly unable to guilt her sister into doing her share of the work by giving her "the look", Martha has had enough. i wonder what did it, don't you? i can imagine Martha bringing in the placemats to set on the table, and Mary --- just at that moment, sighing with content. Martha snapped.
And this is the photo that we've placed on the mantle of busy womanhood. Martha giving Jesus a "dressing down".
i can empathize. i have sisters, too,. My older sister had an aversion to doing dishes. Almost nightly, as we were excused from the dinner table to begin the chore of cleaning the kitchen, Leslie would declare an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Just as the soap bubbled up in the sink, she would disappear --- only to return as the last dish was dried and put away. (i suspect Leslie would tell the story differently...but it's my blog.)
The story is not told in great detail, but as we look at this one photograph, our imagination assumes that Martha was confidently brash and bold. Mary was quiet and unobtrusive. Martha was obssessed with preparations and busy-ness. Mary was a sanguine, reflective sister given to long hours of reading and daydreaming. Martha had a high standard of perfection. Mary was casual and laid back. Martha was so consumed with duty and details that she ignored her guests. Mary enjoyed the guests so much that she did not want to leave the gathering to help with the preparations.
Maybe. But that's alot of "concluding" from one snapshot.
To be continued.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
i've been gone for a few days. Delightfully distracted by the wedding celebration of my daughter. Today i have a bad case of the "what-was-i-doing-this-time-last-week" blues. Sigh.
To make matters worse, i have realized that, while i was knee-deep in wedding planning, summer slipped away. The pool is closed. The traffic is backed up at 8:00 a.m. And my calendar is full.
Busy. Everybody's suddenly busy.
i used to take quiet pride in my busy-ness. As if somehow, the busier that i was, the more important i must be. When people would ask, "How are you?" i would answer, "Busy. Good, just busy." And if i were really in the zone i would rattle off my schedule, just to impress. "Well, i have training for our leaders this weekend, and i need to finish writing lessons. And next week i have a meeting with regional women's leaders and our kick-off is on Thursday. i have meetings with four potential leaders....and on and on,..." And it worked. People would say things like, "Wow. i don't know how you keep everything together." Score. Points for me.
Ugh.
One day, as a result of a fairly humiliating encounter, i realized that 1) i am not a highly paid physician and 2) no one's life depends on my "getting the job done". Several years later, i hope i'm a little less intense (don't laugh) and, perhaps, not as desperate to impress people with my amazing ability to keep-the-plates spinning. i've certainly dropped and shattered my share of said plates, at some expense to people that i love. i'm slow, but at least i'm aware.....
There does seem to be an increasing cultural appreciation for women who can "do everything". Every room needs a "mom". Every team needs a "coach". Every troop needs a "leader". Every committee needs a "chair"..... the laundry needs to be done, and the groceries put away, the library books returned, and the school yearbook ordered. For many women there is a deadline to meet, a client to please, and a plane to catch.
i'm wondering if anyone has time to think anymore. To plan. To pray. We don't spend time alone with the Lord. We don't read quality books. We don't study. But we are busy.
The spiritual spin on this syndrome can be found in Luke 10. You know her...she's the hero of every i-must-keep-the-plates-spinning woman of our generation. Mary's poor sister, Martha. Martha of Bethany has become the poster-child for Christian busy women. Women who contend that they just can't help that they are prone to over-commitment, to hyper-busyness, to "highly paid physician" intensity. They are, after all, more like Martha than Mary. It can't be helped.
May i gently say, "Malarky"? (i am certain that i just aged myself. That was my dad's saying.)
i have learned over the years that this "I-am-like-Martha" mentality is 1) a smokescreen for something else and 2) not at all good exegisis of the Scripture (that's a fancy way of saying 'application or interpretation').
The text found in Luke 10 is not a study on personalities. It is not the Holy Spirit's tool to advocate "a Mary heart in a Martha world" (no slam on the book...i read it). It doesn't even fairly represent the "other sister" on its own. It's a snapshot.
And you know how i feel about snapshots.
What was i doing this time last week? Sleepover in the bridal suite with Hannah and her friends, my mom and other girl-family members...putting together gifts for our hotel guests...in sand buckets with shovels. The wedding was at the beach. Smile.
To be continued.
To make matters worse, i have realized that, while i was knee-deep in wedding planning, summer slipped away. The pool is closed. The traffic is backed up at 8:00 a.m. And my calendar is full.
Busy. Everybody's suddenly busy.
i used to take quiet pride in my busy-ness. As if somehow, the busier that i was, the more important i must be. When people would ask, "How are you?" i would answer, "Busy. Good, just busy." And if i were really in the zone i would rattle off my schedule, just to impress. "Well, i have training for our leaders this weekend, and i need to finish writing lessons. And next week i have a meeting with regional women's leaders and our kick-off is on Thursday. i have meetings with four potential leaders....and on and on,..." And it worked. People would say things like, "Wow. i don't know how you keep everything together." Score. Points for me.
Ugh.
One day, as a result of a fairly humiliating encounter, i realized that 1) i am not a highly paid physician and 2) no one's life depends on my "getting the job done". Several years later, i hope i'm a little less intense (don't laugh) and, perhaps, not as desperate to impress people with my amazing ability to keep-the-plates spinning. i've certainly dropped and shattered my share of said plates, at some expense to people that i love. i'm slow, but at least i'm aware.....
There does seem to be an increasing cultural appreciation for women who can "do everything". Every room needs a "mom". Every team needs a "coach". Every troop needs a "leader". Every committee needs a "chair"..... the laundry needs to be done, and the groceries put away, the library books returned, and the school yearbook ordered. For many women there is a deadline to meet, a client to please, and a plane to catch.
i'm wondering if anyone has time to think anymore. To plan. To pray. We don't spend time alone with the Lord. We don't read quality books. We don't study. But we are busy.
The spiritual spin on this syndrome can be found in Luke 10. You know her...she's the hero of every i-must-keep-the-plates-spinning woman of our generation. Mary's poor sister, Martha. Martha of Bethany has become the poster-child for Christian busy women. Women who contend that they just can't help that they are prone to over-commitment, to hyper-busyness, to "highly paid physician" intensity. They are, after all, more like Martha than Mary. It can't be helped.
May i gently say, "Malarky"? (i am certain that i just aged myself. That was my dad's saying.)
i have learned over the years that this "I-am-like-Martha" mentality is 1) a smokescreen for something else and 2) not at all good exegisis of the Scripture (that's a fancy way of saying 'application or interpretation').
The text found in Luke 10 is not a study on personalities. It is not the Holy Spirit's tool to advocate "a Mary heart in a Martha world" (no slam on the book...i read it). It doesn't even fairly represent the "other sister" on its own. It's a snapshot.
And you know how i feel about snapshots.
What was i doing this time last week? Sleepover in the bridal suite with Hannah and her friends, my mom and other girl-family members...putting together gifts for our hotel guests...in sand buckets with shovels. The wedding was at the beach. Smile.
To be continued.
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