“But the Lord said to her, ”My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
– Luke 10:41-42
For those of you unfamiliar with Bible stuff basically what happened is there were 2 sisters, Mary and Martha, who had invited Jesus and his entourage to their house. Martha was frantically racing around worrying about all the preparations; her sister Mary was supposed to be helping her but instead had escaped to go and listen to Jesus’ talk (teach). Martha was understandably upset – imagine having 15 or so dinner guests (one being The MESSIAH- literal saviour of the world!) and you’re responsible for feeding them! So Martha went to Jesus and complained about Mary’s lack of help and the above was Jesus’ response to her. (If you want to read the whole story, click here)
We are in a time where it is very easy to get caught Martha-ing, trying to get everything done (or even panicking because we’re not doing enough!), to fill our time, to be ‘productive’ and sadly we can overlook the opportunity we have been given
to sit.
To breathe.
To simply be present.
Sitting at Jesus feet doesn’t look like filling your schedule full of online sermons, bible studies, meetings, devotionals, etc… It’s giving yourself space and the freedom to listen, to release your tight grip on wanting to control and know and plan and look like you’re being productive. Mary wasn’t worried about the kitchen; she was solely focused on Who was right in front of her.
What are your kitchen preparations?
What is causing you anxiety? What are you striving for? What are you trying to do, when you simply need to take a page out of Mary’s book and be present with Jesus? What would that look like for you?
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I can’t believe I haven’t updated in almost a year!? Where does the time go?! If you asked last year Kayla how she thought the next year was going to play out I can assure you she had no idea what was in store! She didn’t know of the challenges she would soon face, the crippling fear, that feeling of having the rug pulled out from underneath you…
These past 11 months have known brokenness, loss, fear, sadness, frustration; I have felt misunderstood, criminalized, betrayed…simply put, I have hurt, deeply. And yet! Through all of it there has been joy, not the superficial smile on your face no tears kind of joy but rather real joy, the joy that comes from knowing who the God I serve is, knowing that He will work things out for good, knowing that no matter what happens He won’t leave me, He sees me and knows my needs, He loves me!
I have had to learn to let go, to really release the desire to control, to know what’s going to happen next, and instead, like Peter walking on the water keep my eyes focused on Jesus and keep moving forward, towards Him. Scary, but also invigorating!
Courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting in spite of it. -Mark Twain.
We are allowed to feel fear, but we are not to let it control us. Death has been defeated, Jesus has conquered, and we can trust Him!
Praise:
- While there were many roller coasters, I had an amazing time at home in Canada. I was able to reconnect with so many friends and family. It was really encouraging
Prayer:
- Like the rest of the world Costa Rica has also been affected by the pandemic and are currently preparing for an increase of cases as many foreigners have breached the border and entered. It is said that many were carrying the virus.
- I was recently given the opportunity to do a Global Sofa with Latin Link and share a little bit of my experience so far:
- For continued protection and blessing – emotional, spiritual, and physical
- If you need to talk, or just someone to listen please feel free to contact me, I would love to pray with you and hopefully bring some encouragement.
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