I tend to be Martha. If I didn’t sense my physical needs for food, rest, and sleep so intensely, I would pursue 1,000 things and pack my days full of activities from morning to evening. Isn’t it easier to throw oneself into work than to accept that there isn’t a lot going on? But doesn’t the spiritual life flourish when there is not much activity? When things quiet down, you become calm, and realize that the only important voice gets louder when everything else gets quiet.
When one stays busy, the heart has little chance to speak up. After all, we are worth just as much as we accomplish – lies we believe. Inner beliefs engraved in our society and eventually in our hearts repeatedly remind us to do and perform. The lie accuses us of “Who are you if you don’t achieve?”
We throw ourselves into the chaos to drown out the noise in our own hearts. We give little space to the urges and longings that point us to the only One who could truly calm our souls.
In all our busyness, don’t we live past the most important pursuit? I want to be Mary, who has recognized what is most significant. My everyday life should be organized around what’s more than essential: Jesus.
I want to have time for worship in the many daily hours and given moments.
I want to chew His word in my thoughts and pause to give thanks for what He has given me today.
I want to become quiet, to listen, to look… and to have recognized what is most important.
Sometimes we think our community would prefer us to be Martha. But actually, what they need is Mary – a person whose heart is focused on what is most important and inspires others to also let their eyes dwell on Jesus.
Honestly, I sometimes take flight into the role of Martha because I’m afraid of being a fake Maria. You know, the fake Marias who avoid work and lose themselves in relaxation. The Bible repeatedly testifies that we are called to work and that industriousness is an honorable trait. However, there are times of rest and slowing down in life. God even commands in the Old Testament to observe the Sabbath as well as the Jewish festivals, which serve to commemorate, pause and rest.
And yet I think it happens again and again: Before we know it, we’re back in the role of Martha. We worry about all the little things and get lost in the doing, losing sight of what is most important. After all, isn’t it the better way to live? To be busy, to do something, to achieve and get value out of it. Sometimes we have to repeatedly fall back into these performance patterns, only to realize that the Mary-life is the better one, the right one, the more important one after all.
While Martha’s eyes jumped from one guest to the next and her thoughts were filled with all the tasks she still had to do, Mary’s eyes rested on the only thing that mattered. And God doesn’t want to take it away from us when we have recognized what is most significant.
Mary recognized that everything has its time. She realized that when Jesus is in the room…whew!…it’s not time to work, but time to sit at His feet and listen. Isn’t it so that when one has realized that Jesus is always present in the room, in our hearts, one works very differently? Not in a hectic pace, but from a sense of calm.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
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!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
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About waiting and being content
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4 replies on “How to find inner calm ”
I have lost my best friend to “Martha” syndrome. It has crushed me. After forgetting me numerous times, lying to cover up her busyness, accepting more and more and more onto her plate.. all in the name of God, but can’t keep her word or sit down for 5 minutes to chat and re-connect.. the extreme behavior has pushed me out for good. It’s as if religion has destroyed her.. she had no interest in nurturing a 43yr. long friendship/relationship. And the kicker… I am to blame. When I ask for 2 hours of time, once a year.. she can’t because of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J etc…. she is busy doing God’s work. I’m so sad.
“Mary recognized that everything has its time.” So, so good, my friend! And I, too, tend to be Martha because I don’t want to be perceived as a fake Mary – what a great insight. You’ve given me something to think about. Thank you. 🙂
Manchmal denken wir, unserem Umfeld wäre es am liebsten, wenn wir Marta sind. Aber eigentlich brauchen sie Maria – eine Person, dessen Herz auf das Wichtigste ausgerichtet ist und andere ansteckt, ebenfalls mit dem Blick auf Jesus zu verweilen. – Ja, sehr gut gesagt!
Gerade gestern Abend haben wir uns bei der wunder.bar, einem Abend für Frauen in unserer Gemeinde, mit diesem Thema beschäftigt. Dein Artikel kam tagesgenau und hat geholfen, nochmal weitere Aspekte anzuschubsen. Es gibt keine Zufälle, vielen Dank und herzliche Grüße.