“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed 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 up 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, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” - Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
Maybe this is the 50th time you’ve read the story of Mary and Martha or maybe it’s the first. I’m convinced, however, that there’s no way we could ever read that passage and not be convicted. While there are so many good lessons tucked in these words, I want to focus on this concept:
Sitting at the feet of Jesus.
As women we can be analytical and tempted to always dissect our faith and try to keep tabs on what’s going on in all the areas of life. We can feel so moved by the call to serve that it becomes where we place our identity. We can be so in love with the notion of inviting others that we forget to show up ourselves.
We can be Martha.
But Mary just sat at the feet of Jesus. She sat there and let herself be enamored by the presence of her Lord. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the good portion when she did that.
So sister, I’m not going to get analytical or deep here because I think that’d defeat the purpose of this passage. Instead, I want to urge you to sit at the feet of Jesus today. Maybe you had plans to do all these other good things for the Lord, but I encourage you to let yourself be immersed in His presence. Just sit with Him.
Sometimes we tend to think that serving the Lord entails doing instead being. I just love how Jesus gives Martha permission to breathe and be in this passage. No more striving and anxiously meandering. Just simple and refreshing stillness at Jesus’ feet. What a place to be.
About the Author
Oliveah is 21 years old and lives in Ontario, Canada. She loves her relatively small-town life but also has dreams to move to the big city (Toronto)! She recently graduated with her degree in Public Relations, and while she seeks out her next steps she is pursuing her love of writing and branding through various projects.Oliveah is wildly passionate about sharing her faith and journey through life in an authentic and tangibly real way. Her motto is "keepin' it real" and her desire is to encourage women to find freedom from comparison and instead, embrace their identity as Daughters of the King.In her free time, she loves to read, refinish furniture, dance around the house while making mac & cheese, adventure with friends, and of course, write out her heart in Starbucks while sipping a delicious London Fog.You can find her on Instagram here and read more of her heart here.
