Mary and Martha

Some mornings I may take off to work a bit more slower or later than other mornings and in doing so I encounter a long line of cars outside my neighborhood waiting for the train to switch tracks or to merely pass by.


When you are in a hurry, or so it seems for me, the train seems to take for ever to pass when in all actuality it only takes a mere 3-8 minutes.


These trains like every other mode of transportation serve a very important purpose for humanity, whether it is transporting goods and products or us.



The train comes to a stop and it creates a loud screeching noise, a friction on the tracts. Actually my own car makes that noise when I come to a stop and probably now would be a good time to get that checked out. Back to my point..... Friction......agitation, grating, resistance and discontent...all from a train.


On these slow going mornings, the train irritates me. I find that even though I thought I had enough time to squeak in another cup of coffee I am paying for it dearly at the train tracks. I have discovered that while I thought I had patience I may not have as much as I thought especially when I am in a hurry.


I drive long distances to work everyday and I try hard to maintain the speed limit but sometimes you find that special someone who goes just under it by 5mph. My patience is gone. There it goes, straight out the window. I go around them and sometimes people go around me. There used to be a time when the highway speed used to be 55mph and now it is 70 with people going 80 or 85.


What is happening to us? We have a sensation of urgency to speed, rush, be hasteful, and race to the finish line. We do this at all costs just so we can get those items off our agendas and create new ones. Why do we have this sense of urgency?


I found myself the other night after 10 hours of work, children homework, dinner and table talk that I was extremely exhausted. I tried to pray before bed time but discovered I was rushing through my prayers and my heart and mind was not there. So, in my exhaustion I prayed "God you know where I'm at physically, mentally and spiritually and you know what I need, please forgive for everything and thank you for everything, AMEN. The next morning as I began my prayers it dawned on me that the previous day I gave myself to everyone else, but HIM with the exception of 10 seconds of uninterrupted prayer time.


This morning I asked for forgiveness.


My father use to tell me as a child and young adult to 'take time to smell the roses!" It's an old saying, but it is something that has stayed with me for awhile. Last year when he came to visit he brought me roses for my flower garden. I look at those roses when in bloom and say a prayer for him.


Do we really need to RUSH? Are the agendas so important that we need to drive fast, get irritated and shorten our prayer time with God?


Think about it....Mary and Martha in the Bible. Jesus comes to their home to visit. Mary sits at Jesus' feet, Martha rushes around and cleans and cooks. There's no time. She must keep moving. There's just no time. Mary invites Jesus in her heart, Martha's to busy. Is that what is happening to us that our agendas are more important? Do we find ourselves to busy for Jesus? Are the earthly items on our list more important?


Luke 10:41 Jesus says: "Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things. but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her."

Jesus wants us to stop, listen and pray. He wants us to learn like Mary. He doesn't want us to rush around and forget about Him.


Jesus has a lot to teach and tell us so we can be excellent servants here on earth. If we don't listen how will we know how to serve each other? Surely by being angry at the train conductor for going to slow or the person in the car next to us does us no good. We simply endanger our neighbor and ourselves. Is this what God wants for us?






Today, this blessed day, I am going to take time and smell the roses! Choo, Choo!