Thanks for unpacking this with me over the past few days.
I’ve enjoyed digging a bit deeper with you by looking at the sisters, Mary and Martha, and the fact that they celebrated the arrival of Jesus so differently.
Mary sat at His feet, letting go of all worldly expectations and responsibilities.
Martha worked to make others happy, and missed the heart of the celebration.
I’m wondering which sister you more resonate with.
My guess is that most of you feel a closer kinship with Martha. As women, we are just naturally “doers” aren’t we?
And because of that, our hearts are sometimes not in it.
But what if we could find a happy medium between these two sisters? What if we could find a way to knock out our seemingly endless to-do lists AND connect our hearts with Jesus?
Well… I’d like to suggest an idea.
Why can’t we have Mary Moments in the middle of our Martha days?
What would that even look like?
Maybe something like this…
My family was decorating Christmas cookies – a tradition they love, and one I loathe.
Why?
Because the icing ends up everywhere but on the cookies and I have to resign myself to sweeping up sprinkles for the next 3 weeks.
I do it because every good mother bakes with their kids, right?
The truth is I had a million things that needed to get done. But instead of letting my Martha tendencies to take over, I decided to grin and bear it.
Well in the middle of the chaos, I begin to tear up as I looked at my sweet family.
- I remembered being told we couldn’t have kids… but God provided.
- I remembered how close we came to divorcing a few years ago… but God intervened.
- I looked at Sam remembering how he stopped breathing his first day of life… but God restored.
- I remembered when Sara contracted RSV when she was only 8 weeks old… but God healed.
And in the middle of that VERY Martha afternoon, I had a sweet Mary Moment.
I could have let it pass… I could have blamed it on allergies… but I’m so glad I allowed my heart to be tendered by the Spirit.
God blessed me with a Mary Moment.
And you know what I’ve come to realize?
Being a Martha with Mary Moments is not difficult… it’s just deliberate.
Friends, take the time this season to experience all God has in store for you.
Allow Him the opportunity to tender your heart.
Appreciate those He’s placed in your life.
Be open to His leading.
Let yourself connect with your emotions.
When you do… you’re leaving space in your day for God’s Holy Spirit to bless your sweet Martha hearts with precious Mary Moments.
What a gift.
And remember, when you are deliberate in allowing yourself to soak in those Mary Moments… you are teaching your children to do the same. It becomes normal.
Let’s decide to be women who love God enough to allow Him space to tender our hearts regardless of our schedule… the season… our mood… or our location.
As a matter of fact, let’s ask God to bless us with those Mary Moments all year round.
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