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