EquippedMama

Has anyone else recognized how much of mothering is repetitive?

I don’t know if this is your stage of life right now, but mine seems like a non-stop cycle of changing diapers, feeding people, doing laundry, and restarting the dishwasher. I do other things, sure, but these chores are always looming in the background, somehow always desperately needing to be done. Especially feeding people.

I have found myself getting frustrated with this monotony- especially as I like to keep an organized house, and with two young children, this seems like an elusive desire. Somehow all the hours of dish washing, laundry folding, and putting away toys leave me at the end of the day with yet another load in the wash, another pile of cups and plates to put away, and more toys in creative locations. I feel like I’m stuck on the treadmill of home organization… sweating, but getting nowhere.

In this season of repetition, the Lord has reminded me of another woman who had good ambitions, desired to be a good steward of her home, and yet got a little sidetracked with her priorities. Her name was Martha, and she can be found in the book of Luke, chapter 10:

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Most of the time, Martha seems to be cast in a bad light, but in re-reading this passage, I recognized that I could identify well with Martha. She appeared to have good intentions. The passage states that she welcomed Jesus as a guest. Certainly she had the desire to give Jesus the best she had and felt pressure to make everything “just so” for this well-respected teacher. From all we can see in the text, she started out great.

So where did she fall short? Somewhere along the way, Martha got preoccupied with the preparations rather than the guest. She was wanting to be a good host, but forgot to focus on her guest. In her tizzy to serve Jesus, she forgot to stop to listen to him.

Finally, Martha spoke her frustration, asking Jesus to tell her sister to help her. This was no doubt a last-ditch attempt to blow off some steam. Martha made it painfully obvious that she was working hard, and that she wanted help. She was willing to interrupt Jesus’ visit with her petty request, likely embarrassing her sister and putting herself into a position for ridicule as well.

Jesus’ reply focused in on the heart of the issue. He stated,

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41b-42, NET

Martha didn’t need to make a show for the Lord. Jesus was used to eating with all sorts of people, in all sorts of places. Yet, he did care that she was able to receive what was important- knowing him, and understanding his message.

As a mother, it can be so easy to miss Jesus in the midst of the everyday. It is so easy to “muscle through” making it to naptime, or rolling our eyes at yet one more tantrum. But Jesus promises his presence to be with us always (Matthew 28:20) and asks us to abide in him. (John 15:4). Like Martha, we can miss Jesus’ message and forget about his presence. We can be troubled about many things, too!

If this sounds familiar, maybe skip doing a load of laundry (it can wait) and pray for Jesus to reshape your priorities. In the midst of the busy, pray you don’t become troubled and miss Jesus wanting to meet you in your everyday life.

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