Martha to the Max

Once I found a book with this title and I bought it without even reading the back. Have you ever seen the TV show friends? I swear they fashioned Monica after me. Both of these things illustrate the fact that I am a very detail oriented person. So much so that a lot of the time it hinders me from seeing the big picture. It's a good thing I married a big picture person. Sometimes my detailed personality is very useful and good, but sometimes recently by the end of the day I've been feeling like a big failure. Why did I feel this way? When I looked back on my day I was getting a good amount of "stuff" done. Then I heard God repeat to me what I've heard so many times: But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~Luke 10:41 Aha! He might as well have been saying "My dear Megan..."

Yesterday was a lot better because I asked God if I could be Mary that day instead of Martha. I wanted to sit at God's feet that day instead of running around on my own feet checking off items from the 10 page list in my head then getting frustrated at the little people (and sometimes grown man) in my way. I did a couple practical things too: when I noticed myself walking really fast as I often do, I slowed down. Why such haste to put away some socks? I took time with each kid to just sit with them. Mary always says, "mommy sit down" when she wants me to sit and play with her. I noticed that I'm always saying, "OK Mary after mommy ..." So instead of saying that I just dropped what I was doing and sat with her. The kitchen counter really doesn't need to be cleaned 3 times a day.

I really like how gentle God was with Martha. He didn't say, "YOU are the one who's got it backward. You're mess up girl. Why do you need everything to be perfect? Do you think YOU'RE perfect?? Because you're not." These are the things I hear in my head a lot, but that is not the voice of God. Jesus knew that Martha loved him, she was just expressing it in an unhealthy way. There's nothing wrong with making a good meal for people, but where are my motives? And where is the time sitting at Jesus' feet?

Basically I'm seeking God for change. Some things are good: having a welcoming and organized home, and children who obey, have some self control, and add to that welcoming environment. But some things are infinitely better: love, prayer, grace, freedom, etc. I want to seek those better things first and all throughout the day and if the good things don't get completely finished and wrapped up in a little package, there's always tomorrow.