This is probably the busiest week of my year. Saturday afternoon I begin my travels to Seville so the next five days are my last chance to iron out all the details of the 24-7 Round Table and Feast gatherings. I've gotten to the stage where the conference is invading my dreams, I'm waking up in the middle of the night remembering things I must do and I'm working hard not to give in to worry...
As Steve and I have been praying together God has been really gracious and at every stage has overcome my stress with peace. This morning as I woke with a fresh clutch of anxiety in my throat and stomach I got into the shower and thought,
"Lord, I want to be Mary in Martha's clothing. I can't escape the work I have to do, but I want to do it aware of Jesus' presence and with peace and prayer."
The Martha figure has been one that's haunted me throughout my life. I'm a natural doer so I've had many a warning with the dreaded M word thrown in to add weight. The thing is I think God made me a doer and then challenged me to find Jesus in the doing. I've had to force myself to build rhythms of prayer and bible study into my normal routine, to see the importance of time with God over the urgency of work, but ultimately I think the reason I really enjoy making other people's ideas a reality is because it's how I'm designed.
My walk with Jesus will always wrestle with balance, I'm fairly certain of that, but by the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit it's not as daunting as it once was. Normally this week all quiet time would be thrown out of the window as I hit the last minute details full speed ahead. This year I'm gonna try something different. Humanly speaking I may get less done, but inwardly I might achieve more... xc
Crap. I am Martha through and through.
I'm purposefully taking time out today to lock Martha away and explore my Mary side- here's hoping I have one. x
Posted by: Lili | October 08, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Its alright to be Martha: she found faith in her work (take a peek at her in John 11).. Bless you loads for these couple of weeks...
Posted by: jude | October 08, 2007 at 12:03 PM
I hope you find peace and space for God in the midst of the busyness of the next weeks preparations, but you know thats not the meaning of that passage, right?
Posted by: andy | October 08, 2007 at 02:42 PM
Steve and I were just chatting about it this morning and these are the thoughts that came from it :) Thanks for your prayers Andy... xc
Posted by: Carla Harding | October 08, 2007 at 02:48 PM
honey, you are one busy bunny. much grace to you!
xx
Posted by: lisa | October 09, 2007 at 09:35 AM
Carla
Bad comment, sorry.
Public apology here: http://andymoore.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/mary-and-martha/
Posted by: andy | October 09, 2007 at 10:41 AM
Andy you are very sweet. You really did not need to do this though your willingness to is a real testament to your walk with God. Your thoughts on Mary & Martha are great! I was chatting about the very same thing with Wendy from the states yesterday. I have loved this part of Luke for many years and I guess I blogged mid conversation rather than starting from scratch. I have taken no offense! I think you're lovely :D xc
Posted by: Carla Harding | October 09, 2007 at 11:51 AM