Martha, Martha

Today I read through the past two months of my journal so I could jot down the prayers that have been answered.  So many times I pray about things while I am worried and barely even notice after the prayer is answered.  I want to have an attitude of gratitude, so I started this practice at the beginning of the year.  It is sometimes amazing when I look back just two months and see what my prayers and concerns had been.  Sometimes I see that God worked things out the way I had asked Him to.  At other times I see that He had a much better plan.  Sometimes I am still waiting for an answer two months later, but I know that God's timing is perfect. As I turned in my little notebook to the page marked July 2, 2013, I was blessed by what I read there...

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"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things."  Oh how soothing those words seem to me this morning.  Jesus wasn't speaking them with judgement or condemnation, but with compassion and understanding.  Mary had chosen not to be upset or worried.  She sat at the Lord's feet, enjoying His presence.  Martha hustled and bustled around trying to "serve" Him.  Martha didn't think that it was fair that Mary could just sit there like that, unconcerned about anything else.  

When my heart becomes overwhelmed with all there is to do, or with decisions that must be made, I want to remember the kindness in the way my Savior responded to Martha.  "Juanita, Juanita, you are worried and upset about many things."  Often when I become frustrated with a person, as Martha was frustrated with Mary, it's the same way.  It may not be as much about that person and what they are doing or not doing, but more about the "many things" that I need to let go of so that I can rest comfortably at my Savior's feet.  

Lord, give me peace and rest today that continues through my life.  Amen

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The passage of scripture that inspired this reflection is Luke 10:38-42

OMP

On Labor Day our family was out geocaching with our friend Tom who is visiting from Wyoming.  We had been to the parks at Benner Township and Bernel Road, taken a walk along Blue Course Drive, eaten lunch at Dairy Queen, and stopped various places along Martin Street.  Our quest to find hidden "treasures" had finally taken us to Circleville.  As we finished up our day of walks and searches I heard my daughter burst out with a frustrated, "OMP."  One of her brothers had asked her to do something he easily could have done himself, and she complied with a measure of annoyance.  We all looked at her a bit perplexed because none of us knew what OMP was supposed to mean, and then she spelled it out for us, "Oh My Pumpkins!" 

Part of me wanted to laugh, and part of me wanted to scold her.  I was about to tell her she couldn't cover up the meaning of what she was saying by changing the word to pumpkins, but before I did I mentally flipped the proverbial coin and looked at the other side.  Maybe she really is just say the word pumpkin in vain.  What if she were to say this among her peers at school?  Would they react the same way we did?  Her brothers just sort of rolled their eyes, and maybe even laughed at her silliness, but would someone who doesn't know her so well wonder why she would change the phrase?  I know why!  She respects God and doesn't want to use His title flippantly.  I say title because the One True God who created everything has many names that express His attributes.  Many people worship gods that are not real.  They are not divine, in fact many of them are not even alive.  Could OMP be Heather's way of saying, "I am frustrated, but I respect God?"  

I didn't actually say anything to her about it, but pondered the thought for a while.  In a culture where there is very little respect for anything, might this be one of the subtle ways that Heather stands out from the crowd?  Could it cause her friends to ask her questions and open the door to conversations about her faith that she would not otherwise have?  Is there anything wrong with exclaiming pumpkins? I'm not sure I know, but I think that I am often inclined to take things a little too seriously.  My prayer is that Heather will stand out as a light in the darkness, as one who knows the true and living God, and as someone who is eager to lead her friends to Him.  I can see that this is the desire of her heart, and so I am glad that I took a look at the other side of the coin before casting a judgement.  Heather, you are one special girl! 

Exodus 20:7  “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.