The better part...

Have you found time to rest this Advent season? With so many tasks to accomplish before Christmas, there’s little time for rest. And yet, I find I’m a lot more irritable and snappy when I’m tired and overwhelmed...

I remember how hard it was to find a balance between working full-time and caring for my family when my children were younger. There were nights I’d come home after a long day at work, with nothing left to give to my family. I had to come to terms with the fact that my family is my priority. While I love my job as an Occupational Therapist, my role as wife and mother is far more important. God has entrusted my husband and I with the care of our 5 children, and it’s our responsibility to love and nurture them.

The times my mum and dad came to visit when our children were born were some of the happiest days... With each of our children, my parents would put their lives in South Africa on hold for at least 6 months to make our lives a little easier. After our 5th child was born, Mum finally asked if I had figured out what was causing the babies... the trips to the US were getting expensive!

I marveled at all Mum would accomplish in a day! She never complained, and I worried that she was doing too much... but she loved to serve, and was happy to demonstrate her love by her acts of service to her family. I’m more of a complainer... surely, with a spouse and 5 children in our home, the workload should be distributed a little more evenly!

I’m reminded of the story of Martha and Mary in Luke’s gospel. You see, Martha became anxious and overwhelmed with all she had to do. She was burdened with serving and in frustration complained to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” When the work we do is not done as an act of love for the people we are serving, it becomes burdensome; we get frustrated and overwhelmed; we start looking at the fact that others are not working as hard as we are; perhaps, we even feel we are not appreciated...

Jesus did not encourage Martha’s pity party... he told her there was need of only one thing. Jesus was the one thing; the only thing; the guest of honor... her sister, Mary, had chosen to put Him first, to make Him the priority... she sat at His feet and listened to all He had to say. She had chosen the better part, and it would not be taken from her...

There are many times I need to rest; to stop all my frantic activity and just sit at Jesus’s feet; stop talking and just listen to Him speak. Resting in Him enables me to get the refreshment and strength I need for the work He requires me to do. There’s a verse in Scripture, “Be still and know that I am God.” The thing is, being still precedes the knowing... how can I draw closer to God, learn to listen to His will for me, or know Him in a deeper and more meaningful way if I am constantly bombarded by all the noise and activity of the world?

Jesus invites us today, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.“ May we make Him our priority, and choose to sit and listen to Him speak... He is the better part!