Luke 10: 38-42
As they continued their journey, he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha. You are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
As we prepare to start this journey tomorrow, here is my goal. I pray that we all Rediscover the Mary within us. What do I mean by that? I believe that too many of us hear the passage above and relate immediately with Martha. Our lives are busy, distracted, chaotic. We are always serving, working, “DOING”.
So, if we reflect on this passage, our minds jump to words like, burdened, anxious, worried, and we say, “Yes, that’s me!” But, I heard the idea once that we are not human-doings, we are human-beings. Let that sink in for a minute.
There was a time in my life, way back before marriage and kids, right after college, when I truly felt like Mary. I had more time on my hands, more freedom, my only responsibilities were to take care of myself and my job. I sang in the church choir. I went to multiple bible studies. I served and lead ACTS retreats in my parish. I had a great community with others who were seeking the Lord and I felt so close to Jesus. I even remember when all of my friends were getting married and my closet was full of bridesmaids dresses, saying to the Lord, “Ok, Jesus. I’m watching all of my friends find their love and I’m still waiting. You know what? Why am I concerned? I have YOU. I could not ask for a better man. One more faithful and loving. So, it’s me and You. You are my guy, the love of my life.” Yea, I was Mary all over.
To the point, that one of my dearest friends actually called me Mary and she was my Martha. Mary Alice had a heart for service and worked tirelessly to minister to others. I loved working alongside her in our music ministry and through many retreats. We did an entire skit as Mary and Martha and embraced our roles whole-heartedly. She was, and still is, my spiritual sister.
But, after a while, life got busier. God did send me a man who would become my soul mate. We moved away from my church community and began a life on our own. We had to find a new group to walk with and learn how to live our faith as a couple. Then with the addition of each of our five precious souls to raise and nurture, I found myself shifting from Mary to Martha without even being fully aware of the change. It was a gradual slip. I still felt like my relationship with the Lord was there, but it would often take a back seat to the daily demands. And if it was in the forefront when serving at church, it became more of an intellectual exercise, than a heartfelt relationship. Before I knew it, I was anxious and burdened. I was caught up in the details and losing sight of the bigger picture. I was in full on Martha Mode.
So, fast forward to last Saturday. I attended this Women’s Lenten retreat and pow, Tara, our leader, takes us through this passage in a Lectio Divina style. (Google this, ladies. It is the most amazing way to read and pray Scripture. There are many different styles, so find the one that works for you.) As I am reading this slowly and meditating on what words jump from the page and into my heart, I realize that, I’m not relating to Martha, for the first time in a very long time. I’ve heard this passage hundreds of times. I always related to Martha, lately. I had forgotten that I had ever felt like Mary. But, that day, in that room, at that table with the other ladies, God said to me, “Welcome back. It’s good to have you sitting so close. I’ve missed our time together and I’m so happy you have ‘chosen the better part’ today.”
I started 2019 with the to goal simplify and be present to each moment, a desire borne from my Advent prayer. And now, as I enter Lent, I can see the difference that making the time to engage all of me in the work of growing my relationship with Jesus has made already. I have rediscovered the Mary within me. I will continue to sit at his feet and listen to him. I have chosen the better part. And the best thing is, it will not be taken from me. That’s His promise.
And, the other thing that stood out to me on Saturday? Almost every lady at my table heard Martha. It showed me in a tangible way, the reality in so many of our lives. It was an answer to why the Lord was putting this Lenten blog mission on my heart. He wants more of us to chose the better part. Rediscover the Mary within you.
So, practically speaking, what does this look like? Because I still have plenty of situations in my life, where the Martha duties are alive and kicking and I have to meet those responsibilities. I can’t literally sit on the couch with the Lord all day. (Not that I don’t want to try.)
But, can I be Martha with Mary’s heart? If I’ve chosen the better part first and it will not be taken from me, then it seems to me, that it’s now grounded inside and I can do what I need to do without being burdened with anxious feelings. Without the judgement and stress, I can serve from the heart.
How many of you can relate to this? Does your journey look similar? Have you had your Mary moments? What about Martha? Maybe your path to today has been quite different.
Are you ready to rediscover the Mary within?
I hope you’ll share below. I’d love to chat.
XOXO,
Barb
Reflections of a Cute Lil Mom 
Yes! It is so difficult with the daily tasks and commitments. I'm in the process of repurposing my early morning time (in the quiet and stillness) to spend discovering Mary. I can't really remember a time when I wasn't always doing something. It is taking some discipline not to just get a jumpstart in my chores for the day and the to do list that continues to grow.
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Yes, Alison! Yes! It takes intentional action on our parts to slow down and be quiet so we can hear him. Learning that those tasks are not going away and they will still be there, but I can do them better after I've been with him!
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