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Writer's pictureSarah Raad

Distraction

Instead of sitting at the Feet of my Beloved, I am rushing around fiddling with a million distractions.

Christ in the House of Marth and Mary (Vermeer)

I am a very busy woman.  A very very busy woman.  And the older my children become the more busy I seem to become.

 

And I have been thinking about this, because there is a great temptation to say, “I am too busy for God.”  There is a great temptation to say that everything else can get in the way of God and my conversations – my prayers – to God…  And reflecting on this I recall the story of Mary and Martha…

 

“A woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘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 10:38-42).

 

Christ visited His friends in Bethany very often.  They were familiar with Him.  They understood how He worked and who He was.  They knew the way He thought.  They knew that when Christ came to visit, others followed.  The house would have been overrun with people.  The village would have been on fire with curiosity to see this Man who was visiting with His friends.  And the women of the house were those who were responsible for keeping things in order.  They needed to draw water from the well for people to drink.  They needed to cook the meals – three a day.  First, they would bake the bread with which the meals were eaten.  They needed to shop in the marketplace for all that they needed with them.  If they grew herbs or vegetables in their garden, they needed to pick them first.

 

In other words, the distractions in that home were significant.  There were no electric appliances and no short cuts or cars.  There was no quick way to do things.  Fires needed to be lit in the morning and prepared for the meal.  The work was hard and manual.  And yet – even despite the sacrifice involved in work such as this, Christ spoke to Martha and told her to imitate Mary…

 

And Mary sat down in the middle of all those distractions.  She let the guests go hungry.  She let the house go uncleaned.  She did not leave to collect the water.  She sat.  There.  At the Feet of her Beloved.

 

And I have been thinking about Mary today.  Because it seems that in this world with all its convenience and appliances and automations, where I can literally sit still at any time of the day or night.  And instead of sitting at the Feet of my Beloved, I am rushing around fiddling with a million distractions.  And today that seems like a terrible waste.  A terrible terrible waste!

 

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

 

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