“I don’t know how you find the time?!”
“I wish I had skills like that!”
“I could never be that organized.”
Ever heard these things? I have. And I don’t deserve such praise. See, I’m not all that organized and I really don’t find the time. I’m rather lazy when it comes to serving others, particularly when they’re in my own family.
Priorities.
That’s the big thing. Priorities is how those things happen. And no, this isn’t going to be a series about how to prioritize or reprioritize or anything-else-itize your life. I’m certainly not in a position to tell you what your priorities should be, particularly since my own are rather skewed.
Heart.
That’s the other big thing: Even more so than priorities. A change in heart, how you look at the jobs that need to get done, is the best and biggest way to take you From Busy to Blessing. How you recreate your heart, bending it toward glorifying God and showing His love to those around you. This is harder than priorities, because a change of heart is something that is sought moment by moment, through constant awareness, self-sacrifice and lots of prayer.
What things are in your life that you can do, because you enjoy them, but still bless those around you with them? Come on…be honest. I know there is something that you like to do that can bless others, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy or elaborate. It can be simple, mundane.
What this series is going to be about is how you can take your Martha-skills {the busy work} and use them as a Mary {Jesus seeking}: Taking you From Busy to Blessing.
First I want to share with you Martha and Mary’s story:
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.”Luke 10:38-42 {NIV}
We ALL want to be a Mary. No one wants to be rebuked as Martha was. No one wants to be the person filled with discontent. No, nothing in this world should take priority over Jesus and time with Him and the Father. BUT, in this fallen world there is still work to be done, and someone has to do it.
the Lord, not for human masters.” 1 Corinthians 3:23
There is a way to use our work as worship. To seek God while scrubbing pots. To praise Him while wiping snotty nose and poopie bums. To love on others, while loving ourselves and our own interests. For you, you just have to find it.
For the next 31 days I’m going to share with you a variety of ways in which you can be a blessing while doing the busy work that needs to get done.
Will you join me?
That’s when it can get so much scarier {bet you didn’t think that was possible!}. It’s not just casual and smiling and being nice anymore, it’s being real, and that can be so impossibly hard. It’s one thing to be “Fine” with each other, it’s another thing to allow someone into those parts of ourselves that we are too afraid to share.