By: Guest blogger on September 3rd, 2017
There is no doubt about it: I’m a Martha. This fact is apparently so obvious that I was even given the role of Martha of Bethany years ago when I was involved with a Passion musical. Partly attributed to ADHD, I have an innate desire to move, plan, talk, etc. In other words, I am like so many who have a brain that never seems to stop when it should. I operate on setting and fulfilling goals, am a certified list maker, and live by a calendar – usually.
Does this mean I am organized? Sadly, I still leave much to be desired in that area.
Does it mean that I don’t desire to stop moving? No.
The truth is, I have no problem picturing working beside Martha as she planned, cooked and served dinner for Jesus and her guests. Deep down, I would have greatly desired to listen to all He had to say, but something inside would have driven me to make sure that all of the physical needs were met before I ever would have taken the time to sit at His feet.
One would only need to ask one of my kids to know that I would have probably beat Martha to the punch when she insisted that Jesus command Mary to serve instead of recline to listen to His words, and it has taken maturity into adulthood to truly understand how wrong that would have been.
As a teen, I remember feeling stung personally by Jesus’ admonishment towards Martha. I could NOT understand why He claimed that Mary was making the better choice. I really, truly, just couldn’t fully understand it. I think that knowing I would have behaved so similarly to Martha made it very personal, almost as if He were speaking directly to me.
He was, of course.
Little did I know just how much I would struggle in my Martha role as I journeyed forward into the future!
As my family has grown, I have been beyond blessed to get know moms who have managed to figure out how to become both Mary and Martha. They’ve taught me how incredibly important prayer is during daily life. They have taught me that sometimes you have to throw the schedule out the window to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity for quality family time. They have taught me to recognize the “God-incidents” in my life which show that God is guiding me and reminding me of His great love.
They have also taught me a word that my brain doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge: STOP.
STOP to pray.
STOP to listen.
STOP to see, hear, and touch.
Mary understood this word well.
Are you a Mary or a Martha? Are you a combination of both?
We are all a work in progress. For those of us who incline to be more like Martha, perhaps we can whisper the word STOP to ourselves once in a while throughout the day. It just may send a message to the brain to transport us, even if for just a moment, to the feet of Jesus.
He can hardly wait to meet us there.
Copyright 2017 Christina Nagy
Image Copyright Via Pixabay (2014), CC0 Public Domain
This article was originally published at CatholicMom.com and is shared here with permission.
