As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
~Luke 10:38-42
Something most of my friends know about me is that I am a natural giver. If I have $5 in my account and my friend needs $10. I am going to give them my $5 and figure out how to get the other $5 so they have what they need. And to be frankly honest, I enjoy being a giver. I enjoy meeting people’s needs. Even in ministry, I was always the ‘Yes Girl’ and people would come to me because they knew my answer would be ‘yes’. I even found myself saying ‘yes’ to things that God was telling me to say ‘no’ to. Eventually through time with God, I discovered that my constant ‘yes’ was out of fear. In my mind, the constant thought was ‘if I say no will they still accept me’. My ‘yes’ was based on the fear of rejection and that fear caused me to easily become a Martha when God was calling me to be a Mary.
In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus comes to Martha’s house. Martha and Mary welcome Him and the disciples in. As Jesus and the disciples come in, instead of going back to the kitchen, Mary sits down at Jesus’ feet and listens to him while he teaches. Martha is still in the kitchen working and getting stuff done, until she realizes that Mary isn’t there. Upset that Mary left her to do ALL the work by herself, she goes into the room and interrupt Jesus. Martha asks Jesus why He is letting Mary sit there and do nothing, while she doing all the work. She even demands that Jesus tells Mary to help. But Jesus explains to Martha that she is worried and upset about the wrong things. Mary is doing what you should be doing and He will not tell her to change. Jesus is reminding Martha of the order and priority of the moment, which Mary had already figured out.
During my season of “Unlimited Yeses”, I was busy being a Martha. I was serving and running around surviving on my own strength instead of sitting at Jesus’ feet getting fed and filled. During my season of “Unlimited Yeses”, I was so consumed with going and doing, that I didn’t have time to rest in the arms of my Father. At that point in my life, I was depleted and my tank was empty because I chose to put my work above my worship. And I found myself operating in the same frustration as Martha, while being called to be Mary. But it was during this time of depletion and burn out, that I truly learned the importance of rest and alone time with my Heavenly Father. When I started taking that rest and spending time with my Father, I noticed my life change. I noticed the fruits of the spirit manifesting. I notice my life and my reactions to life being filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). When I stopped arbitrarily being Martha and focused on being Mary, I gained a new joy and reverence for life and for serving.
Next year, I will have the opportunity to serve individuals in the 1040 window*. I have been selected to participate in an 11-month Exhibition Mission to the 1040 window beginning in August of 2018. During this time, I will serve in Spain, Morocco, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and China. As I embark upon this new journey, I am so thankful to go knowing the importance of rest. I am, also, grateful for the opportunity to serve with an organization that understands that importance of rest, as well.
*The 1040 window refers to the multiple regions located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator in the western hemisphere. This window includes of millions of people who have never heard the name of Jesus.
