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| Mary and Martha with Christ |
It has been a very busy week with the end of the quarter. My younger three boys are in junior high or high school. Projects, tests, assignments abound. Autism in the mix makes for a wonderfully chaotic week!
Today is Friday, and now I get to catch up on the necessities of running the house. Bills, paperwork, follow-up on insurance, doctors, prescriptions, bank accounts, housework, laundry, etc. I stress to the boys that work needs to be done before they can pursue fun activities. My problem is I never seem to get to the fun activities myself.
A friend called this the Martha vs Mary syndrome. I laughed.
Who are Martha and Mary? They are sisters out of the New Testament. Jesus visits them. Mary chooses to listen to Jesus. Martha works to prepare the meal. Martha is disappointed that her sister leaves the preparations to Martha. Consequently, Martha asks Jesus to instruct Mary to help with the workload. Jesus responds, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
I guess you can say that the moral of the story is that the spirit needs to be fed first. Then all other matters can be tended. It comes down to priorities.
I used to lean towards Mary. I could easily give up housework and chores for whatever reason. Now I lean heavily towards Martha. Duties need to be done. DONE. Maybe I'm becoming obsessive-compulsive myself. I see so many things needing my attention, and I'm overwhelmed. So many things.
I teach my kids about balance. Sometimes I even say they need to do an hour of yard work (or homework) before an hour of leisure. I need to take my own advice. I need to balance obligation and fun. The cure to the Mary vs Martha syndrome is not one over the other. Tis the balance of Mary AND Martha!
photo credit:http://www.danielim.com/2011/06/13/integrating-two-sides-mary-vs-martha-or-mary-and-martha/
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