Sunday, April 5, 2015

Who Are You Today?

Who are you today? 

Are you the mom who raced around the house before everyone was up, did a quick load of laundry, and tried, sleepy-eyed, to stuff Something Healthy into a lunch box? Are you the one who looked for the matching shoe that wouldn't turn on you by 2pm and who just dropped yet another earring back down the sink? Did you remember to sign the homework folder from last night and help to squeeze the science project on the bus? The bus the kids almost missed? Again?

Are you the daughter who is struggling to try to live up to her parents' expectations while your friends are distancing themselves from you because you don't/can't/won't have the kind of fun that they have? So many rules to follow that you didn't make and why should you be the one left out? 

Are you the wife who agonizes and wonders when 5:30 rolls around and he should be home by now, and who no longer recognizes the woman she sees in the mirror nor the couple in the wedding portrait hanging in the bedroom? You tell yourself to look thinner, younger, to be more interesting. But all you know how to be is...you. 

Are you the church member who has all the perfect covered-dish recipes, mails the get-well card out at just the right time, and is the first to arrive at the door when there is a need? The one who is silently screaming on Sunday morning because your own doorbell never rings? You feel empty and you know you shouldn't because you're saved and you love Jesus and He loves you and you love the worship music except now it seems like the words are hollow and they don't make you feel like dancing and spinning with joy anymore. You want to drop to your knees and cry out -- 
but what would everyone think? 

Who are you today?

You may not be one of these women, but I can guarantee you either know one or you were one. Or someone very much like her. Because we are women. We try harder and harder to "meet the need," to be the "caregiver." It's in our nature and we do it well and we make it look very, very easy and it's anything but easy. It's hard and it's tiring and it's lonely. Have you read Proverbs 31? I mean, have you really read it? And actually thought about the effort that it takes just to accomplish some of what is outlined in that passage - that, my sisters, is one hard-working woman. 



Mary and Martha. They were quite a team, weren't they? Two sisters whose hospitality was known all around the area. Going to their home for a meal was a delight- good food prepared by women who loved doing it. But we see, as we read Luke 10:38-42, that they were very different when it came to things that really mattered. Martha was focused on the meal and she wanted to make sure it came off flawlessly. 
By the way, none other than Jesus was going to be eating her food. So before we get a little "judgy" because Martha was focused on the food, we need to cut her just a little slack. 


She was cooking for the Son of God. 

True, Martha was caught up in the moment in the kitchen, but I can relate to her and I'm sure you can, too. Most women I know have known that feeling. If you have ever led or cooked or decorated or diapered or nursed or taught- you know. It is scary and stressful and so important. But there are, contrary to how you feel, more Important Things. Because our Lord demands and deserves more of us than to simply "fix Him a meal." 


He wants our heart

Even when the rice isn't done and everything else is, and when the buffet is ready and there's no silverware, and when it's time to leave for church on Easter and the baby has a *gasp* awful diaper and it leaks all over the outfit that Grandma gave. And when, in the effort to save time, you left his little satin booties on him while changing him and he flails his little leg down and right into the HazMat situation. This too shall pass. And you will, one day, blog about it. Be calm. Call on the Lord. And follow Mary's lead. 

Mary...sat down. Not just anywhere, but at the feet of Jesus. She stopped everything to listen to the Master. Not from another room, or from nearby, but close to Him. She took time to be with the One Who mattered. In front of everyone, Mary drew near to Jesus and settled in. And she didn't come empty-handed. She brought her most expensive bottle of perfume. And in what I am sure was one of the most beautiful scenes of love and adoration, she washed her Savior's feet with that perfume. Slowly, methodically, purposefully. 
Mary's action wasn't only to show Jesus how much she loved Him; He already knew that, He's Jesus! Mary's actions showed the people around her-- showed her own sister-- just Who mattered most. And it showed Mary as well. The lesson she learned from the time she spent with Jesus was priceless- much more valuable than any perfume. 

Who are you today? 

Did you begin your day by seeking God first? (Matthew 6:33) Did you run straight to the Father before you tried to accomplish anything? You need to. Because a few minutes spent at the feet of Jesus will not prevent the coffee from being made, the cereal from being poured or your eyeliner from being straight. He will bless your time and will establish your day so that you will be astoundingly equipped to handle life this side of heaven. Will it be hard? YES. Will it be fair? Rarely. Granted, sometimes you will have to get out of bed before you've had a chance to speak privately with the Counselor. I mean, the child standing at your bedside covered in puke does demand your immediate attention. But you can allow your heart to join His even then as you fulfill Scripture by caring for the family He has blessed you with. It's okay to cry out. It's just fine to ask Him for help. It is what He wants! He will join you right there in the struggle and He will not leave you even for a moment! Because it's not about you being enough for Him, it's about Him being more than enough for you. Will you still have: curfew, bills, losses, pains, betrayal, injustice, bad hair days, mean bosses, accidents, illnesses and puky kids? Absolutely. But you will also have Jesus. 

Who are you today? 

Are you His?


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