COME TO JESUS ~ Wednesday September 3, 2008

Thanks for stopping in today. Our hostest is Jan of Jan and Tom's Place...be sure to check out her blog for others who participate in our weekly Come to Jesus, post.

Are you a Martha or a Mary?

Luke 10:38-42

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 listenting 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 replied, "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."

I had the opportunity a while back to be involved in a team that was doing mission work. We were involved in decorating homes and rooms for women that were involved in a recovery program. It was 4 very long days of working but very rewarding...during this time I had a co-worker say in a joking way I basically wasn't carrying my weight. Now, I knew that this was not true but those words stuck and hurt...Now I do remember that I took many opportunities and time with one of the gals who lived in the home we were working in. I could sense she was curious and really was trying to get to know us. I am sure that was what was being referred to. Well I carried those hurt feelings for many months but knew it was wrong...so I began to ask God to help me let these go.

Then, GOD is only HE can do, began to softly work in my heart. For many month God he kept bring up references to Martha and Mary's story. But of course I had never connected these to my situation. Then my mom said something to me about being a Mary and FINALLY her words began to sink in. God used her words to gently speak to my heart. He said to me... its okay to let go of your hurt...you were being a Mary back then, when many around you were being Martha's. At that point all of my hurt was released.

I really wanted to share about this because too often we get caught up in the "doing" and do not doing enough of the just sitting a Jesus' feet. Martha was so busy trying to get things done and food on the table that she missed Jesus or an opportunity to minister to others. As her resentment grew..she was lashing out at Mary for NOT carrying her weight...and Jesus' reply probably caught Martha off guard. He explained that what Mary was doing was far more important. Sometimes in our journey we get wrapped up in the busyiness of life and often miss the opportunities to sit at Jesus' feet. That might mean ministering to a sick person, listening and reaching out to an unlovely person or crying with someone who is mentally hurting.

For me I can now take this whole experience and know that it IS okay to be a Mary and even a Martha when those times are needed. I need to be available to help out and get things done..but be I need to be sure not miss the Mary in in whatever I may experience.

Hope this will be encouraging for you today. Blessings...Lorena