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
I consider myself a very organized person, but I’m also a very forgetful person so I rely heavily on my to-do list. I write down absolutely everything and if you’re a little nerdy like I am, you can relate to the pure joy that comes from marking through each completed task. I love my to-do-list; it’s like a trusted friend who’s always by my side. But I’ve realized it is smothering my relationship with the Lord, preventing me from having the closeness with Him I long for.
This world is so demanding of our time. Work, laundry, errands, running the kids to practice, helping with homework…the list is never ending and exhausting. There’s always something I feel like I should be doing.
I want to sit at Jesus’ feet like Mary but I’m often my own Martha, reminding myself of all the work that needs to be done!
I find myself saying things like, “I’ll be able to focus better during my time with the Lord if I get the laundry started first,” or “I’ll pray and praise God while I dust the blinds.” Of course I can praise God while I clean but that is no replacement for time set-aside to be in His presence. Sadly, I get so caught-up in getting things done that I often neglect my time with God. I doubt any of us would forfeit a one-on-one date night with our hubbies, yet we so easily forfeit time with our first love.
I feel like I’m being a good steward of my time when I can look back on my day and see so many tasks ticked off the list, but the very best use of my time is time spent with my Savior.
My family may never notice if the blinds go undusted or the laundry is postponed a day, but they will notice the love, patience and peace I have to share after filling-up at the feet of Jesus. I’ve heard it said that women set the tone of the home. Think what tone we’d set if we put Jesus at the top of our to-do list!
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