Recalibrate your priorities.

Hate is a strong word. And Jesus doesn’t hate, so let me rephrase. A more accurate statement might be that Jesus  is more important than housework.

I’m referring to an account in scripture when Jesus is at the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha.

When Jesus arrives, Mary drops everything and goes to sit by Jesus – at His feet to be exact. A humbling position.

Martha on the other hand – “was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” Luke 10:40

She marched over to Jesus (she may have walked but she seems to exhibit some sass here)  and says – “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  (see told you she’s sassy).

To which Jesus responds, Martha, chillax and just hang out with me for a bit!

Ok. Old Testament Jesus didn’t say those exact words.

He said this to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her”. Luke 10:41

The issue wasn’t the actual housework – scripture doesn’t tell us exactly what Martha was doing just that when Jesus arrives she stays busy and pays Him no mind, believing that what she is doing takes precedence over spending time with Him.

Ouch, that hurt.

This sounds like me. This IS me on any given day!

Now life is busy. (I like to state the obvious).

There are so many things that we need to do on a daily basis, so when Jesus asks Martha to stop “doing”, I’ll be honest, I get a little bit defensive for poor Martha because I’m a do-er too.

Doesn’t God see my schedule? What does He expect? Does God want me to just curl up in a ball and meditate all day while the house implodes all around me!! How will I get everything done? What is He saying? What does He want from me?

Here’s what the Lord wants from you:

He wants you to remember how much He loves you.

He wants you to know that what you “do” is important. (Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell Martha that what she is doing is stupid or not necessary – He simply reminds her that when it all fades away – there is only one thing that is NEEDED – HIM.

He wants to bring peace, joy and order to your day.

I write this, because just like you, my to-do list never ends. It can be overwhelming.

But there’s an antidote to it all. Jesus.

When I start my day focusing on Him and asking Him to direct my steps and order my day a funny thing happens.

I still have the to-do list. I still have all those little red marks in my calendar. I still have work to do.

But…..I’ve now got peace, joy and strength as I make my way through the day and guess what?

When the day is drawing to an end and I didn’t finish everything I needed to do…..I still have peace because in the whole scheme of things (one of my favorite expressions by the way)…..only one thing is needed – Jesus.

He has a marvelous way of recalibrating my priorities.

Will you allow Him to help you order your day?

Now about my dog…………..

I think he’s trying to take credit for my hard work.

The other day I was in the basement taking some before and after pictures of some furniture I painted.

Next thing I know, Zack gets up from his comfy spot and stands next to the table.

He poses – He looks right at the camera and stands perfectly still.

He even looks proud! Like he’s saying – “Oh you want a picture of me and the table I just painted?”

I continue taking pictures. Zack gets a little closer.

You’d swear that he painted these himself. To be honest, I wish he could paint, I could use the help.

But for now he’s content to just mysteriously show up and photo bomb all the pics of my hard work.

Have a great weekend.

Till the next time,

Julie

oops….I almost forgot to show the after pictures of those two tables.