*Disclosure – This post may contain affiliates. Read the full disclosure here.
Here’s my confession. I’m completely a Martha.
I’m a list maker. A planner. A to-do checker. I’m even one of those people who will add an item to the to-do list that has already been completed just so I can immediately cross it off. Yep. That’s me.
I’m pretty great (if I do say so myself) at staying organized and juggling schedules. And I can provide an impressive spread at a get together, but I also know I’m missing out on the ability to be still and rest.
Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.40 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!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Here’s another confession – I would really like to be more like Mary. I want to be more able to readily let everything else go and be present with God when I feel His nudges. When I get too stuck in my schedule I can miss out on God’s timing.
And man has the process of writing this post been in God’s timing! I generally try to write posts a week or more in advance. So I’ve had a general outline for this post for about two weeks.
But God…
First my daughter got pinworms! They are gross little parasites that were a significant discomfort to my daughter. (I’ll spare you any other details but if you would really like to know you can look them up.) And it forced me to stay home from work for half a week to do the most thorough Spring cleaning imaginable! But truth be told it was really good. (Not the actual pinworm part – that was gross!) I was in need of rest from work and writing and God brought that into my life in a way that nothing less would have worked.
So this past week I thought I was ready to start back to writing. I had five days off and I was ready. And specifically ready to write this post. But again, God had other plans:
Monday-
I completely slept through my 5:00 am alarm and a series of other more pressing tasks (like feeding children breakfast, answering what-if questions about various Pokemon characters, analyzing our March Madness brackets and discussing the merits of the different Disney princesses) just seemed to be more important. And in amazement to my Martha heart – it was good.
Tuesday-
I got up on time, started my bible reading, and then got into my prayer journalling. As I was starting to journal my mind was wandering and distracted. And for reasons only God knows, it made me think of the Armor of God. So I spent the next 2-3 hours reading, comparing translations, and studying commentaries on the subject. It was so awesome to get completely wrapped up in God’s word! So again, this post did not get written. But I’m so excited for the other posts that are going to come out of that time of studying.
Wednesday –
It just felt like an off morning. I was trying to write but I kept getting interrupted. I was fighting for my schedule when I felt a nudge that my family is always supposed to be a priority above this blog. That has been a hard balance I have been trying (and sometimes miserably failing) to achieve ever since I started the blog. I even said to my husband, “Funny that the post I’m trying so hard to get to write is on Martha’s being more like Mary.”
Thursday –
I got up on time, read my bible, and prayer journalled. I smiled and laughed at God’s lessons for me and transitioned to working on my writing. And the internet didn’t work. No. Joke. And I felt God tell me, “Spend more time with Me. No blog today.” So I grabbed another cup of coffee, my bible and cuddled up in my favorite reading spot and spent the rest of the morning before work reading God’s word. And I took the entire day off from social media and my blog.
Friday-
So today I’m writing as I feel God has allowed it to be so. And truly His timing is so much better than mine. While this post is completely different than I had originally intended. I hope it provides you a lesson through my experience. As it has been such a valuable one for me. And this weekend my husband and I get to be sans children for the first time in 10 months!
So for you list-types, here are the five ways I’m working on letting go of my Martha ways and being more like Mary.
Let go of the to-do list
Or at least don’t hold on to it so tightly. My to-do list for the week got completely flipped on it’s head. But the important things absolutely got done. Time with God, movement in my heart, studying His word, and time with my family.
My goal is to have a tentative schedule that I pray over daily. I want God to lead my day. Not me putting Him into a time slot.
Soak in quiet time
This is why I get up at 5:00 am. The rest of the house is still sleeping. But quiet time doesn’t have to be only a designated time.
My goal is to steal away brief moments throughout the day that intentionally breathe in God’s peace.
Give yourself grace
Let’s go back to the bible verses – Martha opened her home to [Jesus]. She loved Jesus. Martha was not a bad woman.
If you identify with Martha, you love Jesus, too. Don’t beat yourself up.
More important to be present than perfect
I imagine Martha just wanted everything to be perfect for Jesus. But that desire to make everything just so caused her to be distracted from the moment.
My attention to God is more important than any post I can write. Spending time with my husband in the moment is better than saving up for a trip later. Giving my undivided attention to my children when they are needing it is more beneficial than a clean house.
Your worth is not in your works
And to the Martha’s, this one is the hardest. Your worth is in Christ alone. That truly is enough. You don’t have to be the best, smartest, prettiest, fittest, or any other descriptive word ending in -est.
But to believe that it requires you to let go. Let go of the insecurities. The doubts. And the pride. To be willing instead of willful.
Daughter of Christ is really the only title that matters.
To the Martha’s wanting to be Mary.
I pray that this post met you where you are and convicted you to work to be more like Mary.
God bless!
Melissa
p.s. Check out all of the beautiful sites I linkup with!
Melissa, I’m a Martha most of the time too! Thanks for drawing out these important points and sharing them in such an applicable way. May we posture ourselves at the feet of Jesus with worshipful hearts even as we serve him in the midst of busy days!
Amen! This is my desire – to more readily put other things on hold for time to connect and learn from Jesus! I’m glad to know I’m not alone. Thank you for stopping by Stacey – God bless!
Love all of these pointers! Love the way God works, and leads us as we follow Him!
Thank you Esther! Yes, He’s beyond amazing and perfect in every way. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. God bless!
On the flip side of this, I am a Mary who often wishes she was more like Martha… My house is never clean and I never get my to-do list done… but when push comes to shove, I fall back on God’s grace. Yet Satan loves to echo Martha and taunt me that I’m lazy.
Thank you for sharing this Heather! Yes, Satan loves to play “the grass is greener” game with each of us. Focusing on God and His path for us is always the answer. Thank you again for stopping by and sharing your experience. God bless!
“It’s more important to be present than to be perfect.” I love that!
Thank you Susan! This is one I have to remind myself of often. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. God bless!
LOVED this. So much truth and such a great perspective. I, too, am a Martha. So, I was comforted knowing I am not the only one. Thank you for sharing!
Morgan you are definitely not the only Martha! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. God bless!
This is great! I love that the post shows how you lived out these principles practically. “Give yourself some grace” is a great principle. I feel like poor Martha gets a bad name in the church, but you’re right, she isn’t a bad person, she just was a little misguided. Her purpose was ultimately to honor Jesus too, she just needed to be reminded that it’s about relationships, not about tasks crossed off a list.
Thank you Ashleigh. Yes, give yourself grace is a hard one for us Martha’s. There’s a desire to do things right so it can be hard to forgive ourselves and just keep trying. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
This is great Melissa, I thought I was the only one struggling, it is encouraging to know that I am not alone.
Time with God and family is paramount; what you did was perfect. May God help us to balance our commitments and our relationships to His glory.
You are certainly not alone! And so often when I give God my time and truly sink into Him and the bible, it’s so amazing how much more refreshed I feel. Plus time seems to open up in other areas of my day. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
I CONSTANTLY struggle with this! A little ironic that I’m reading this as I’m running around trying to get moved out of my house by myself (husband is deploying) this week. Thanks for the reminder!
That’s a big task! Please thank you husband for his service and God bless both of you!
I have started the practice of refusing to feel hurried. I try to do everything in peace and communion with the Lord. That sounds all very spiritual but in reality it has shown me how Much I do in the flesh!
That sounds like an awesome practice to work on. I’m working on better understanding and abiding in the need to just be. With God. With my family. And that’s enough. It’s a hard lesson. Thank you for sharing your insights, Alice. God bless!
I guess many at times we don’t choose to surrender our presence to Him, because we don’t value it ourselves. Hence we tie our value to everything that’s result-oriented. But God doesn’t want results, He wants us. Results will follow when we just remain with Him.
Ann this is so tremendously true. We believe the lie that we, as God created, are not enough and need to be all the things to be worthy. But you’re right. God just wants us. And we have to learn to be content – even if God’s plan for us is to not have the results. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your insights. God bless!
I know that this wasn’t the point of the post, but this line made my heart smile: “ike feeding children breakfast, answering what-if questions about various Pokemon characters, analyzing our March Madness brackets and discussing the merits of the different Disney princesses”. I’m a nanny (and a kid at heart), so I could completely relate and it brought a smile to my face.
Thank you Kristin. Actually these things can be really hard for me to do when I feel like I need to be doing all the other stuff. But I’m learning that these types of conversations are more precious than so many others. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
I live like a slave to my to-do list and get so much validation from being a servant. Thank you so much for the reminder to let this go and surrender. <3
Oh Emily, so do I. I’m coming to realize just how rooted I am in my to-do lists and validations from being capable of “handling” the busy and chaotic schedule that I put on myself. But it causes me to miss the point so often. It’s a really hard lesson. I’m glad you found the post beneficial. May we both surrender to the only One who matters! God bless!
This is good advise and presented in a lovely way.
Thank you Pamela! God bless!
Love your list items…such great suggestions. Also am glad to know I’m not the only one who gets into a writing rut on occasion. That’s where giving ourselves grace comes into play, I suppose. Thanks for a great post! #MomentsofHope
Thank you Carri! Yes, I’m learning to listen to the “why” of certain things better. The writer’s rut was God’s message for me that I wasn’t ready to write the post. I needed my own personal reminder of how to be more like Mary. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. God bless!