Quiet Time? To Be More Mary than Martha

Quiet Time? Monday Morning 58
Women of Faith:

Are you so busy getting all of your jobs done that you don’t have time for “quiet?” For a time to listen to your heart and God’s whispers to your soul? Are you continuously worried about who needs to be where and what needs to be done next that you don’t have time to pray? To be silent? To just sit quietly and watch all that is happening around you?

Do you take time to play with your children? Talk to your husband? Call a friend on the phone just to chat? What about when you have company, are you too busy getting drinks and food to sit down and enjoy them?

I remember the first time I heard “you need to have a Mary heart in a Martha world.” My first thought was that Mary and Martha were both followers of Jesus, what was the difference. Obviously I had not really listened to the following story:

“Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." Lk 10:38-42Later, I actually bought the book, “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” by Joanna Weaver which gives many examples and circumstances where we tend to be like Martha instead of Mary, and ideas for becoming more like Mary.

The passage struck me then as it did Sunday morning, because I am so like Martha, yet my real desire is to be like Mary—to have the patience to sit quietly and pay attention to the beauty of God’s world and all that He has given us to comprehend.

I feel less guilty being continuously busy, whether it is a big project or a small one, whether it is all day at work, or having company at my house. And the sadness of it all is that I feel so much like Martha—actually envying those people who take the time to enjoy the beauty of God’s sunsets; or the friends who take week long vacations with their families—unattached to anything they have left behind. Or even the person who gets to take a Sunday nap, or just spend an evening relaxing with friends.

It always seems that whatever I do has a purpose, a reason; it is not carefree and unattached. I am unable to actually enjoy the moment because by the time I take time to “be quiet” the moment has passed.

And yet, I listen to Jesus’ words to Martha that says that those people who seem to me to be lazy and carefree, probably are better at taking their “quiet time” to spend with God, to pray, to listen, to watch, and will always find time to get the rest done—that they are taking time for the “best.” And yes, they always seem to accomplish what they actually need to accomplish, they usually are more content and satisfied with a lot less than me as I run around trying to do it all.

Dear God: Bless my quiet times. I am sorry for the times I have envied someone else’s quiet time; they are doing what you would want me to do. Thank you for the jobs that can be left for tomorrow. Thank you for employees who continue to work when I am out of the office, or those who serve me in any way to make my work load lighter. Help me to remember that it is more important to pray, than to get to work in the morning; that it is more important to take time to call a friend than to clean a closet; that it is more important to sit quietly than to watch a movie. Bless my prayer time and my quiet uninterrupted time with Stan. Help me to always put the “Mary” times first and to appreciate that I am given the opportunities to do so. Amen.

Hoping your Mary heart, can let the Martha in you rest.

Blessings,
Charlotte
PS Turn off the phone, the email, the TV and take some quiet time!