Are you going to cook or do the dishes or sit at Jesus' feet and be still?

What a choice!  I know what I would do if given the choice.  I do have to tattle on myself.  When we were children my  mother made Sunday dinner every Sunday...EVERY Sunday!  Mary Ellen and I were expected to clean the kitchen following the afternoon meal.  I would be sure the table was cleared and then "poof" I was gone!  Disappeared!  No where to be found!  Mary Ellen (the Martha of the family with a Mary spirit) would finish the dishes, wipe the counters, put the leftovers away and then I am sure fed the dog and cat, mowed the lawn, and on and on.  If she complained, which was rare, I would return to my post for a minute and then "poof".
Martha gets a pretty bad wrap in Luke's Gospel story this week, but there is a lesson to be gleamed from Martha.  She was the "doer" where as Mary was the feeler, but Jesus met them both where they were throughout His earthly time with them.  Is there a way to be Martha, the thinker and doer but also be the quiet still Mary?  If you haven't read Having a Mary Spirit written by Joanna Weaver, put it on your "to do list".  She beautifully illustrates how to set a "balance between a soul at rest and a body in motion; working hard for Christ and sitting at His feet."

 

I believe this crazy pendulum that keeps us swinging from being Martha to being Mary can be regulated through our prayer life.  Look where Luke places this story.  Smack dab in between the 2nd greatest commandment "to love our neighbor as ourselves which requires a Martha spirit and His lesson on how to pray; how to ask, seek and knock; having a quiet Mary spirit.  So, is that where the Lord is leading us?  Somewhere between being the doer for our neighbor and the feeler in stillness and prayer?
Take some time to evaluate your prayer life this week.
What is your plan?  Jesus Calling, a journal, prayer partner, an Audible version of Discerning the Voice of God  (Shirer) while you brush your teeth? Or if you already have a well established prayer life, what can you tweak?
The wandering mind during prayer.  It's ok.  See where the Lord is leading your mind during this time.  From the grocery list, to scheduling a hair cut; who knows what dots the Holy Spirit is connecting during this quiet time.
SHHHH!  Don't try to monopolize the conversation.  Give the Lord a chance to communicate with you.
I can't remember who gave me this acronym but it has always been something I have held onto.  I usually find myself praying while holding a plank at exercise and using this acronym.  Talk about a "twisted sisterhood" of Mary and Martha!
P: praise
R: repent
A: ask
Y: yield

Dear Heavenly Father,  in our weakness, we are worried and distracted by many things; but we praise you for your reminder that there is need of only one thing; your love for us through Jesus Christ which will never be taken away from us.  Amen.