Mary, Martha, and Me: Learning to Serve Wholeheartedly

As I shared in my most recent posts, I have struggled lately with negativity and a sense of constant overwhelm. There just never seem to be enough hours in the day, enough energy in reserve to do all I should do, or enough of me to go around. My persistent frustration and anxiety was starting to be a real drain on me and, consequently, on the entire family.

At the same time, after I finished up my previous Bible reading plan, I decided that in February I wanted to do more actual Bible study instead of just doing daily reading and checking that off my list. I am a member of the Simply Living for Him community, where Karen DeBeus posts daily devotionals, hosts Bible studies, and more! She hosted a study on Mary and Martha starting January, so I decided to jump in and do that one this month. Let me tell you, the Lord knew it was exactly what I was going to need right now!

I’m sure we are all relatively familiar with the account of Martha and Mary and their encounter with Jesus in their home, but for the sake of discussion, let’s reread this passage together:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10: 38-42 (ESV)

I think in the past whenever I have heard people teach on this passage, all I’ve heard was that Martha was too busy doing things, and she should have been sitting there with Mary just listening to Jesus. I always thought that Jesus was rebuking Martha, but as I looked at this passage more closely for myself, I realized that simply was not the case. Jesus does not say “Martha, Martha, you are doing too many things and serving too much.” He says, “…you are anxious and troubled about many things.

Serving is not a bad thing. Being busy and having a lot of work to do is not necessarily a problem, if it is the work God has set before us in a season. The problem Martha had was that her heart and mind were anxious and troubled about many things. Other translations of the roots of those words are “worried,” “bothered,” “disturbed,” or “disquieted.” Martha was distracted by many cares. Her heart was divided. She was serving her Master outwardly, but her heart was inwardly focussed on herself. So she became resentful and accusatory toward her sister. Ouch. Been there. Done that.

So Jesus gently redirects Martha’s focus. He reminds her that to have an undivided heart is the key to true service, true worship. One thing is necessary. One thing only cannot be taken from us. That one thing is our relationship with Jesus Christ. He cannot be taken from us, even when we are busy with much serving. We can be busy about the work He gives us to do while keeping out eyes and hearts focussed on Him.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3: 23-24 (ESV)

Also, I want to note that there is hope for us, as there was hope for Martha. If you look at John 12 in which Jesus returns to Bethany before Passover and eats at Martha and Mary’s house again, you might notice some similarities and some differences with the Luke 10 passage.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

John 12: 1-8 (ESV)

Martha is serving again, busy about the meal. Mary is at Jesus’ feet again, this time pouring out what may very well have been her most valuable earthly possession. But does Martha scold? Does she again demand that Mary stop this anointing nonsense and get to work in the kitchen? Nope. This time Martha is quiet and working in the background.

Of course, Scripture doesn’t spell it out, but I do wonder if over time spent with Jesus, Martha has learned how to serve with a whole, undivided heart. I know that that is what I want to learn to do. And spending more time with Jesus every day, sitting at His feet like Mary, is how I hope to do just that. If you are worried and distracted by many things, I would encourage you to do the same.

Over the Horizon: When God Moves Us Beyond What We Can See

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings

The year began as others have, with new plans and goals and hopes. We try to think ahead and prepare ourselves as best we can, but as humans we never can tell what the future holds. And this year has shown us all, I think, how little we know about what will happen tomorrow or the next day. I don’t know about you, but I am a little weary of hearing words like “fluid” and “pivot” and “adjust.” As comfort-loving creatures, we would almost all prefer to keep things a little more controlled, familiar and predictable. Oftentimes, however, this tendency is actually not in our own best interest, and sometimes God has to shake things up a bit to get our attention.

As I sat down to write this post, a picture came to mind of Frodo Baggins in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. He was just a young hobbit, setting out on a journey to an unknown destination, uncertain of his task. In my own personal life, aside from all the national and international chaos and crises, God has been mapping out a journey for me. This path is going to take me beyond my comfortable little hobbit hole and out into my own patch of wild and unexplored territory. This change is happening on two fronts simultaneously, and it all sometimes has me looking off to the horizon and feeling overwhelmed.

The First Path

Back in June, Alisa Keeton, founder of Revelation Wellness, announced that the next session of their instructor training program would be completely online for the first time ever due to COVID-19. Then she added that the cost of training would be half what it normally is. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that this might be my best opportunity to pursue the call that I sensed God laying on my heart 2 years ago when I attended Rev on the Road in Franklin, TN. After some prayer and talking with my husband, I knew that this was the time, and I joined Platoon 25!

But I am not fitness instructor material. This girl stinks at choreographed workouts, not to mention that she feels like throwing up anytime someone brings up leading group fitness classes. I’m not strong, or fast, or even very flexible. Beyond the fact that He wants me to get trained, I honestly have NO EARTHLY IDEA what God wants to do with this in my life! But in some strange way, the not knowing is a comfort. I don’t have to have a plan. I don’t need to see what is beyond the horizon. All I need is to simply trust that the Lord has it all prepared for me, and that He is getting me ready for the work He has for me to do. (To find out about Revelation Wellness Instructor Training, click the image below.)

The Road Goes On

The second path involves our whole family more directly, and it has us all heading into uncharted territory. In July, my husband was called by Bluefield College in Bluefield, VA to serve as their new Dean of Registration Services. Over the course of about 3 weeks, he had an online interview, an in-person interview, got hired, went on 2 unrelated business trips, and took us all house-hunting around Bluefield! It was quite a flurry of activity. He is now hard at work in his new job, and the kids and I are packing and cleaning and getting everything ready to move to our new house in our new state!

Bluefield is a unique town in that it crosses the border between Virginia and West Virginia, and it is situated in the heart of the beautiful Appalachia Mountains. For this born and bred Nebraska plains girl, driving into those tree-covered mountains was a brand new experience. Perhaps the more significant change for our children will be learning to live in town instead of the country. The house we are buying is right in the heart of historic Bluefield. They have never lived in a neighborhood before, and I have never lived on the side of a steep hill. The view on the horizon of our lives is certainly amazing, but it is also a little intimidating!

With Eager Feet

As I look out toward this future I can’t quite see, one thing is certain. God has us in position to be on mission for Him. What with being in town, our family can get more involved in our local community than we have ever been before. Even though I don’t know how God might ask me to use my RevWell training, I have a feeling He isn’t going to want me to just sit on the sidelines once I’ve finished. And what is more, we have a church and a homeschool community out there just waiting for us to find them, too! So it is with eager, though somewhat trepidatious, feet that we set out down the road. Truly, God only knows what lies ahead, just over the horizon.

Day 25: Capture #write31days2018

When I first saw this prompt, my mind went straight to the idea of capturing moments and memories, thus, the camera graphic. As I sit down to write tonight, however, I am more drawn to the verse below about taking every thought captive to obey Christ.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

My tendency is toward worry and anxiety and negative thought patterns. Over the past year in particular, life has changed in many ways, and I am on a journey to better mental and emotional health. This verse is a big part of my healing. I am learning how to stop the negative thoughts through prayer and surrendering to God.

And today I had to do that very thing, as I was nervous about a new book group I am starting and inviting to my home this weekend. I have been worried about what the ladies coming with think of our little rental house and how things will go meeting these people for the first time. New things are scary. But I was reminded to take that concern straight to the Lord. I know He has called me to do this at this time, so I can be confident that He is in it and will bless it.

I also was reminded by an old Elisabeth Elliot radio program today to do this same thing with forgiveness. She was talking about keeping a record of past hurts that people have inflicted on us. This verse came to mind as I considered how to fight the temptation to bring up those things with the people I love. I have to take those thoughts to Christ and remind myself that His blood covers all those sins, so I don’t need to hold onto them. Instead, I can choose to let them go and be free to love the people in my life with grace. May you do the same, as well!

This post is part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes and Write 31 Days blogging challenges. Find all my posts in this series under the tag “write31days2018.”

Day 20: Audience #write31days2018

The concept of “audience” has been on my mind lately, especially since leaving Facebook and Instagram for the month. Even before that, however, I had grown disillusioned with the ideas of growing an audience via social media and all that the “experts” say you are supposed to do these days to build a platform. I am tired of the constant push to hustle and the pressure to be a certain type of person in order to market myself.

The thing is, I don’t actually feel called to create a big audience for myself as much as I feel called to use words to communicate God’s truth and encouragement to others. If he wants me to have a small audience, but I actually do make a little bit of a difference to those few people, then so be it. As long as I can be obedient and faithful, I am pleased to be used by God in whatever capacity that may be.

Of course, I want to reach more people. In my humanity, I would love to speak into many people’s lives and have my words go far and wide. Who wouldn’t want to be recognized for saying something worthwhile? But if that isn’t what God has for me, then I am content to just keep writing for the pleasure of the process. In the end, my audience is really an audience of One, and He is the only One whose opinion matters.

This post is part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes and Write 31 Days blogging challenges. Find all my posts in this series under the tag “write31days2018.”

Day 19: Who #write31days2018 #fiveminutefriday

Who am I? I have been doing a lot of contemplation of the concept of identity lately, especially as it relates to my identity in Christ. The relationship I have to the King of kings is truly life-altering when I live in that reality. I am a daughter of the Creator of the universe, and no one can ever take away my rights as an heir to the kingdom of God. Wow. It leaves me speechless and in awe.

How does my identity in Christ shape me in my roles as a wife, mother, friend? That is what I am working out now in the day to day. If I am secure in my position before God, then I should behave differently. My value does not come from my earthly relationships, but blessing does flow from cultivating those relationships. I should be self-less and loving, faithful and honest, not moved by fear of the future or waves of cultural shifts. When I find my security and value in God alone, I am free to fully love others as He would love them. 

I can’t say I am there yet….far, far from it! But the goal is there. And the Holy Spirit is in me, changing me little by little, as I allow Him to work in my heart and life. Praise be to God that He knows who I am and still loves me!

This post is part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes and Write 31 Days blogging challenges. Find all my posts in this series under the tag “write31days2018.”

 

I am also linking up with the Five Minute Friday community today. To read more posts by bloggers on this prompt “praise” visit the link-up.