Last night at church I spoke about distractions, and choices, and what we allow to continue in our lives. We live in a society that tends to determine self-worth by how full our calendars are, how many organizations we are involved in, and how many followers we have on social media. We tend to get wrapped around doing, being, becoming, presenting, involving, self-promoting...that we rarely enable our little selves an opportunity to rest. Resting is for people who are lazy, who don't have a social life, who don't have any energy, therefore must have something medically wrong with them and maybe you should see a doctor about that...because oh dear mercy, what if resting is contagious?! "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
Luke 10:38-42 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Last week I was a Jonah. This week I am a Martha. I love to plan and organize and, hopefully, pull off a successful event, gathering, party, bible-study, etc. And very much like Martha, I get a little (sometimes a lot) irritated when I don't feel that others pull their weight (that's not on them, that is 100% on me). I struggle with perfectionism and a pretty healthy dose of social anxiety...at the same time. So if you will, I love the preparation and the excitement and the anticipation of picking out the right menu, drinks, and paper goods...but when the bell tolls, I struggle with nausea, sweaty armpits, and superficial conversation. I want to host you, but not necessarily talk to you...and yes, I have tried medication.
And Luke here is giving us a total and absolute free invitation to the party. QUIT worrying about so many things - Sit at the Lord's feet, CHOOSE the good part, only ONE THING is necessary. All the fluff and preparation isn't what is important, it is the quality time, the ability to stop and give God/someone/anyone your undivided attention. And the meaningful conversation. I do not think Jesus stopped and stayed at Martha's to talk about the weather, what He had for lunch, or the new shoe store on the corner. We see in this chapter that Jesus has just sent out the seventy disciples, Satan's walls are falling, and we are gifted the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus pauses at Martha's to rejoice in the kingdom's successes, to impart a shared mission, to clear the distractions of daily duties and say "rest, we are all in this together, this ONE thing will keep us going".
ONE thing is all that is needed. How many things do we fill our days with? What is pulling us away from the ONE thing that we desperately need weekly, daily, hourly, minutely in our lives? What keeps us from deliberate time with God?
I know it sounds silly, but we need to put Him on our calendar. Consider it a challenge to work Him into your day, maybe after a while we can begin to work our day around Him. We talked last night about happiness not being on our agenda, true authentic happiness...pencil it in people if that is what it takes. Sacrifice ten minutes of your morning to start with...I know, I know, I am talking about resting and now I am asking you to wake up ten minutes earlier...or 20? Ten to wake up and ten for authentic prayer, or maybe that is just me 'cause in the morning, God is probably the only one in my house that wants to talk to me! Here is a suggestion for each minute:
1. Thank Him for your health and the health of your family.
2. Pray for those whose health is not optimal right now.
3. Thank Him for food in your cabinets and in your fridge.
4. Pray for those who do not have enough to eat, locally and abroad.
5. Thank Him for a roof over your head and all the luxuries you are afforded.
6. Pray for those who do not have adequate shelter or clothing.
7. Thank Him for his crazy good mercy and undeserved forgiveness.
8. Pray for your sins..throw them out there. Admit your distractions and weaknesses.
9. Praise Him for all His goodness - jobs, friends, family, transportation, freedoms, (coffee) etc.
10. Ask Him where He needs you to go, ask for acceptance of where you are.
You do not even have to talk or force words for the full minute. Say what you need to say and then sit at His feet quietly before moving on.
Let's quit being distracted by all things we can't do or get to throughout the day, and start focusing on what we can accomplish. Let's pencil in happiness and rest and time with God and while we are at it, why don't we check that box on the calendar that makes it an All Day Event? Let's stop preparing for conversations and unassumingly CHOOSE the one good thing that can't be taken away...there is no prescription better than that!
**Side note: While I was trying to type this, I got a call from the hubs that the modem was out on the house. So I spent 18 minutes on the phone with the provider trying to figure out why. Also, another loose neighbor dog in the backyard and a call to Animal Control. A guy at work called looking for a check and the hubs made me laugh so hard, I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Life happens, oh, life happens.**
**Blog update from last week: My submission was accepted!! I am honored, excited, and humbled to be a part of raising money for www.mercyhousekenya.com through my contribution to their upcoming book. I look forward to sharing more information on it as publication draws near.**
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