The Aluminum Foil Situation

You know that silly moment that you wait for as a woman? When another woman recognizes all that you juggle so perfectly and says "How do you do it all?!"

That is a BAD moment for me! I never want to hear that phrase again. That phrase symbolizes my "Martha moment" - as in Martha from Luke 10:38-42

See, Martha and Mary were sisters. I believe that Martha was the typical older sister - neat , organized , and hospitable. Her sister Mary being the "free spirit" of the two , as is typical of a younger sister. This describes my sister and I perfectly , so I totally relate to this story!

Martha and Mary were hosting Jesus in their home. Martha was busy with the prep work , and Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus , intently listening to all he had to say. This really bothered Martha and so she publicly asked Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her - by the way , this is my 1 AM paraphrase of the story. Jesus replied to this by telling Martha that her sister had in fact "Chosen what is better". Ouch.

I have always read this literally , but thanks to my women's ministry class today , I understand the depth of it a bit more. See , Jesus probably didn't mean that Martha was wrong by preparing food instead of physically touching Jesus , but rather that she had the wrong attitude. Somebody had to set the table. Somebody had to prepare the beds. For goodness sake , SOMEBODY had to COOK! Martha was a gifted hostess , but it was a lapse in attitude that was the problem , not the fact that she was keeping busy. Her sister's physical presence at the feet of Jesus was her form of worship. Martha's functioning within her gift was also an act of worship - it was her attitude that was the problem.  We are all created by the Lord to function differently , so that we can be one complete church. We all have different spiritual gifts , and therefore the act of sitting at the feet of Jesus looks different in the lives of each of us, however it is the attitude of worship as our motive that causes it all to work together.

I want my spiritual gift to be hospitality. I almost force it. But the reality is that it's just not how the Lord created me. Time and time again I take the test provided by the church and I come up with the same answer : Faith. Sometimes my worship does not consist of physical actions , but rather private prayer , conversation , and excitement and trust in the Lord. Just like Martha , I cannot expect to force others to worship the same way I do , and I cannot judge others when they do not have the same vision and trust that I have , as they are gifted differently. The way I worship the Lord looks different than the way my husband does. He could grab his guitar and head downtown , play music with the homeless men that sit in front of the park , and come back with as much excitement as I would have from private worship.

I am quick to push the Lord out when my head is filled with other ideas and tasks , partly because I believe that , like all other "gifts" , the gift of Faith requires much cultivation to grow. In our class this morning we even talked about how something as silly as needing to write down "aluminum foil" on the grocery list can distract us from time with God. We have to spend time with the Lord in order for Him to feed us spiritually.

I have a very dear friend who in a sense thinks the way that I do. We had the opportunity to have a "girls night after party" tonight at Starbucks , heading there to chit chat after official girls night had ended. And then when we got kicked out of Starbucks upon closing , we continued the conversation in the parking lot - for over two hours. What a blessing it is to have friends who desire first to serve the Lord. She helped me see that unless something fits into the "God - Husband - Kids" arena, I do not HAVE to commit to it. So now when a friend utters that phrase "How do you do it?!" it means that I have devoted so much energy to other things that may as well be dead works , because I have not taken the time to sit at the feet of my savior.

As mothers and wives , don't we feel the need to fill our time with "meaningful" things like charity and service? Maybe we have it backwards. I don't think we can truly serve until we take some time to just sit. Listen. Worship. However that may look in your life.