I'm a Martha...who are you?

Whew! What a crazy few days. Sick kids, house guests, and a full schedule of "stuff". From reading others' blogs, it sounds like we've all been there this week. As I read through my friends' accounts of their weeks, and talked to others who aren't in "blogland", I found myself with a heavy heart for so many different situations, many more stressful than my everyday kind of "stuff" (I like that word tonight!).

Loneliness, restlessness, illness, busyness, exhaustion, transition, stress.....so many friends who need prayers and encouragement right now. Overall, I have been reminded of how easy it is to be missing the peace that God provides us, especially when life goes by so incredibly fast!

So, as God always does, He found a way to remind me of what it was I (and others) needed to know. Time with Him is what we need.

After reading blogs, I went downstairs to put some things away. While doing that, a book literally fell off the shelf in front of me. (Okay, so it didn't jump off...I knocked it off with a pile of laundry. But, still!! There was a reason for it, I'm sure. ) So, I picked it up, dusted it off (literally), and opened to the middle. The book is "A Woman's Walk with God: Growing in the Fruits of the Spirit". I, of course, open to the chapter on peace! And, it is all about Martha and Mary (a familiar story to many, and one that I try to steer away from...because, yes, I am the Martha of the story, and wish so much to be a Mary even for a day!)

So, the title was "Choosing the Peace of God when the Pressure Mounts". She talked alot about the way Martha handled pressure/stress and how Mary handled the same pressure. Martha became busy and worried, with a sense of panic and pressure and focused on the wrong things (dinner and dishes!). Mary focused on the one right thing that could give her peace---Jesus himself! She had her mindset on things above, not earthly things and rested at His feet.

One of the last sentences of the chapter was "What would an outsider see in you right now---a Martha or a Mary? Are you in a state of turmoil and restlessness, or are you trusting and at peace? Are you running around in circles, or are you resting calmly in the Lord? Is your relationship with Him first, or are you too busy to sit at His feet and enjoy His presence?"

Wow...I'm such a Martha. I focus on the wrong things so often, instead of being still and spending time with the Lord. I hope that this helps even one of my "blogland friends" to be inspired to be a Mary in the midst of turmoil...even the daily kind that involves sick kids, stress, and exhaustion.

One such friend has been that inspiration for me this week. She has truly been a "Mary" when it was the hardest thing for her to do. She has sat before the Lord and waited on Him, trusting Him in every way and leaning on Him for understanding. I love you, sweet friend...and you know who you are!

I pray a blessed week for so many of you who are under stress. Satan has a way of discouraging us and distracting us from the one place we can find peace....at the feet of Jesus...and I pray he is unable to succeed with each one of us!