Balancing Act

…Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. Mark 10:42
Do you ever feel like you are at war with yourself?  You try to do the right things and live up to the expectations but some days it just feels like you fall short…I hope that’s not just me!  I had a lousy day; one of those look under every rock of your life and not really like what you see kind of days.  I suppose it’s good to take an honest inventory of your life from time to time but sometimes it’s painful to be honest with yourself.  What I came to discover is that I’m probably like everybody else with some good qualities and some not so stellar ones too.  As I was thinking about this “battle with self”, I remembered a Gospel story about two sisters who had a battle right in front of Jesus.  I could relate so perfectly to this story and the constant struggle to do the right thing for the right reason.  As I re-read this Gospel I realized that I can be both sisters; Martha and Mary.

This epic sister conflict reveals the perfect model for our lives as faithful servants!  It’s easy to read this Gospel and take sides, but the truth of the matter is we all have an inner Martha and an inner Mary.  It’s also easy to read this Gospel and make Martha out to be the “bad guy” sister.  Really, can you imagine having the guts to whine to Jesus about cooking and serving!  In Martha’s defense, the most important guest of all time was in the living room and there sat the chief helper star struck, completely shirking all sense of responsibility and duty, I’m not gonna lie, I think I would have been a bit irritated myself.

As a Disciple of Christ our vocation includes the Martha stuff like cooking, cleaning and serving.  It also includes the Mary stuff like devotion, attentiveness and focus on the better part.  This Gospel should inspire us to be a balance of both sisters.  We need to realize that when the cooking and serving are done as a prayerful offering to God, it is a powerful form of prayer and devotion.  We also need to realize our Mary moments of complete and uninterrupted prayer have to be carved into our daily schedule.   I need to read this Gospel several times and balance my Mary and Martha! I need to read this Gospel several times to realize my battle is normal and as long as I keep plugging along trying to do the right thing and keep it all in balance, God will notice, and thank goodness he rewards us for attempts and not just perfection!

A Seed To Plant:  How can I make my Martha tasks like cooking and serving more of a prayerful offering instead of complaining about it and feeling unappreciated? How can I be more attentive and focused on Jesus like Mary? How can I find balance and have patience with myself?
Blessings on your day!