The alarm clock goes off and after hitting the snooze button 5 times, I know the time has come when I must face the world. I rush into the shower, scramble to pack the lunch I should’ve put together the night before, sit down to spend a quick moment with God while my hair dries, panic when I realize the shirt I wanted to wear still hasn’t been washed, glance at the clock and I now have 3 minutes to brush my teeth and do my make up. I’m about to head out the door, 10 minutes behind schedule, and realize that amongst the chaos I forgot to eat breakfast. Oh! And I also need to stop and get gas on the way to work. And… I still didn’t get to spend any time reading the bible or praying, like I wanted to.
I’m sure you’ve been there. I’m sure, we all have been there. And the thing is, it doesn’t stop there; that’s just the morning.
We go to work where coworkers are demanding things from us left and right and reminding us of upcoming tasks and assignments. And then after work we run straight to class, or to pick up the kids from daycare, or to the gym, or do all the errands we didn’t have time for during the weekend. On the way home we may sing worship music in the car, listen to a sermon, or pray, because that’s the only time we have to ourselves. We finally get home just in time to make dinner, eat, clean up, and have a whopping one or two hours before we need to go to bed and let the cycle repeat itself.
That is just one day. That doesn’t include weekend plans, financial worries, doctor appointments, completing homework assignments, serving in the community, or any other responsibilities or commitments we may have.
The fact of the matter is that life is busy and chaotic and sometimes we just need to press pause. And even though the world may not call us to press pause, the Lord does (Matthew 11:28-30).He calls us to press pause and to come to Him to find rest. Because we just simply cannot do life without Him.
A few weeks ago, when I was telling a dear friend of mine how I felt like everything around me was going to come crashing down. I told her how I felt defeated. I told her how I felt like nothing I was doing was good enough. I told her how I no longer had the strength to keep things going at the pace I was going. The next morning, when I woke up, I saw that my friend had sent me a verse, Luke 10:38-42.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a young woman named Martha opened her house to him. She had a sister called Mary, who’s at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all of 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 all of 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.”
At first I just glanced at the passage thinking there was nothing I could learn because I had read it a handful of times before. But the more that I thought about it, the more I knew I should read it. And so I read it… not once, not twice, but over and over again until I realized something. I realized that I was Martha, and that I needed to be Mary. But most importantly, I realized that Jesus wants me to be Mary. He wants all of us to be Mary.
When was the last time I had sat down and really spent time seeking the Lord without any distractions? When was the last time I really listened to God? When was the last time I just let myself rest in his presence? When was the last time I consistently put God first, above all else? When was the last time I had been a Mary?
I started thinking about how I almost hadn’t taken the time to read the verse and think about how it could apply to my situation. And that’s when it hit me. If I had neglected to see the new meaning and significance that this little bit of scripture held for my life, what else had I been neglecting to see in other scriptures “I’d read or heard one too many times before”?
One thing became clear through all of this: It was time to go back to the basics. Because the fact of the matter is regardless if you’ve been a follower of Christ for 5 months or 5 years, the significance of the gospel, of what Jesus did for us, never changes.