Scripture Reading: Luke 10.38-42 Today's inspiration: "You are worried and upset about many things, but only

one thing is needed. . .Come to Me, and I will give you rest"

Luke 10.41-42; Matthew 11.28

Good Morning.

It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon when my phone rang. The Voice on the other side was tense, emotional, and needed some direction. Because the Voice knew I was a woman of faith, it thought I might have some answers, or at least know where to go to get the answers. I listened, praying for wisdom as the Voice spoke, and then prayed over the phone, asking the Wisdom-giver for peace, direction, and discernment. The Voice calmed a little, and we agreed to speak again first thing the following morning. "Things are better this morning, but I've still got some questions." "Why don't you come by my house this afternoon, and see if we can make sense of things?" When the Voice sat down in my living room, it was a little calmer, but just as stressed out. I listened as the Voice told me how it had chosen to follow God, even made some big commitments in business to give back to God's work, but man, there was turmoil and almost chaos on so many fronts! What was God doing?! Once again, I listened carefully. . . and I saw it all so clearly in my head--this poor Voice was exhausted, living 'full out' from dawn to after any normal person's bed time, (even though the Voice insisted it rested well at night--'oh, really--if you awaken at night? what do you start thinking about? tell me again about the quality of your sleep, dear Voice'), and still not getting everything done. . . and this was just on the work front. Add to that a young family needing at least a little attention and. . . well, you get the idea.

I had seen it before, in fact, I'd been there myself, so I recognized it instantly. The Voice was at the breaking point, but fortunately, asking questions and really wanting answers, knowing God was there somewhere. . . The problem? The Voice had no margins in life, and so had almost become rudderless, being tossed this way and that on the rough seas of life, trying to make a living, get ahead, etc.--all with good motive--but was still about to crash! But, hey, the Voice knew that God had to be in the solution. The Voice was right.

For so many, the excuse "I just don't have enough time" has become their mantra because they are running so hard. "Don't have enough time--really? Do you have less than the 1,440 minutes that everyone else has?" "Well, no, but. . . do you have any idea how much I have to get done in a day?" "Oh, I see--so you are so busy with this, and then there is that, and you are running out of time? Could it be that your days are driven by the 'urgent' rather than the 'important'? Could it be that your life is overwhelming you because you haven't put any parameters on it--that life is totally out of balance, with no end in sight to the pace you re trying to keep?"

It happens subtly, partly because it seems that 'busy' is linked with a sense of importance. That is why today's passage offers us an invaluable gift--the chance to look at Martha and Mary--and decide if we need a little more 'Mary' in our lives. So, it seems that Martha Stewart, I mean, just "Martha" invited Jesus into her home. (Yea, Jesus--giving value to women, breaking all of the social codes in the male-dominated first century by staying with Martha--don't you just love Him?) Of course, preparations had to be made for Jesus and His men, but Martha just kept going with those, and didn't take time to "BE" with Jesus; Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him. Mary is the very picture of serenity in Martha's whirlwind of busy-ness. When Martha tattles on Mary, Jesus just smiles and shakes His head--'oh, Martha, don't you see? Mary has chosen the better part--this time she sits with Me will not be taken from her. What you don't know, Mary, is that I'll soon be gone, but Mary will have this time to cherish forever.' I love how sweet Jesus was in correcting Martha's fixation on being Martha Stewart. Meanwhile, we look on, and ask--'how can we be a little more like Mary?' Is it even possible for those of us who have somewhere along the line become Type-A personalities? Hmmm. . . how to become Type-Mary. . .

Well, you could read a time management book like The Time Trap, or a book on setting and ordering right priorities, such as Margins:Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Or, you could listen to what Jesus taught and learn from Him. . . learn by being with Him. When Jesus said,

So what was 'the better part' that could not be taken from Mary? It was the 'being' with Jesus. "Come to Me, and I will give you rest. . ." He invites us to come and be with Him. The psalmist said, "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46.10) For many of us, rest is a learned behavior--a discipline, if you will. (I love the word 'discipline' because in practicing it, it frees us up to become who we are meant to become, to be who we are meant to be.) The first step for each of us to be honest about our need for holy rest. Then, we can begin to scrutinize our daily patterns, and see how and when we might incorporate the gift of 'being still' and rest. By the way, do you believe in the Ten Commandments? Do you try to keep them? Then, why do you keep breaking the fourth one? (Exodus 20)

So that you may know,

Christine