"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, emphasis mine).
Like you, I've heard this story of Mary and Martha probably 500 times. I don't know about you, but every time I read it, I feel conviction. Am I more like Martha today - "worried and upset about many things"? Or maybe more like Mary - sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to what he has to say?
My typical personal assessment reveals a desire to be like Mary, but a schedule and actions that look a lot more like Martha. My natural tendency, as a recovering people-pleaser and perfectionist, is to go-go-go and do-do-do, everyday all day. If I can't check off a certain number of tasks from a list at the end of the day, then I may feel as if I failed something or someone. Heaven forbid someone find out that I didn't get everything done, skipped a class, forgot to make my bed, spent a night NOT doing homework when there's enough to fill a week's worth of time, stopped going to the gym, left dishes in the sink, etc, etc...
Martha runs around like a crazy person trying to complete necessary tasks and is naturally irritated with her sister for sitting on the ground doing nothing. But in all of that busy work, Martha is not at peace... she's worried and upset. Her work is not fulfilling.
Then there's Mary. All we know about her is that she is sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to him. Jesus calmly reprimands Martha and explains that "Mary has chosen what is better." Mary is perfectly aware of all the tasks and work that must get done, but those things don't even come close in priority to being with Jesus. She gets it.
I started a new semester (ahem, my LAST semester!) of school three weeks ago and life got crazy-stressful REAL fast. It was as if everything was put in a blender and I just stood there and watched as my priorities, tasks, responsibilities and time got all mixed and mushed right before my eyes. It was hard to stop the chaos after it started... I quickly switched to introverted crisis mode. I was too tired to be around people. Clearly, not healthy.
Last Sunday I slept in and spent the morning with Jesus. I turned on my favorite worship music playlist, read the Bible, and wrote a whopping twelve pages in my journal. In the midst of that, I realized that when life gets crazy and overwhelming, I always neglect the most important things. My quiet time, exercise, and healthy eating/sleeping habits are the first things to get dropped. Reality is, when I drop all of those things - especially time spent in the presence of God - that whole blender experience of watching my life get mixed up and confusing is practically unbearable. It's not a matter of sorting things out in a clear-headed way... it's a matter of sitting on the kitchen floor and crying, because I have absolutely nothing left to give.
So instead, I want to be like Mary. I want to choose what is better (JESUS) every time. No matter how busy, overwhelming, confusing, and frustrating life gets, stopping in the midst of it all to sit and listen to Jesus is worth far more than getting everything done and looking like I have it all under control. (Because let's be real, none of us do!)
I saw this while browsing Pinterest last night and it caught my eye... Do you see the parallel between this quote and the story of Mary & Martha? A busy life, though valued in our culture, is not what brings contentment or fulfillment. According to Socrates, it brings barrenness, or emptiness. Essentially, nothing. I'd rather live a simple life, not worried or upset about many things, but completely fulfilled by and hungry for the words of Jesus.
Lord, help me to choose what is better.
