Out of the mouth of babes

Today, I'm remembering a conversation I had with my oldest daughter about 10 years ago. At that time, I was shocked at what she shared. She'd been having a conversation with her oldest son (he's 18 now) when he looked up at her and said, "Mom, what will you do when you get old?" She thought about it for a few minutes and responded with an "I don't know." Then he said, "Will you be like Gigi (that's me)? Will you just spend all your days cleaning?" 

 

As she shared that with me, my first thought was to laugh. You know, out of the mouths of babes and all, but then I thought, what kind of legacy am I leaving for my grandchildren. Of course, this grandson has seen my house and knows it's always clean (yes, I'm a clean freak) but do I really want to be known as a Martha????

 

For those of you who don't know, I'm speaking of Martha in the Bible. Martha was one of the sisters of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead after he'd been in his tomb for four days. The other sister's name was Mary. 

 

Mary and Martha were very different. In the Bible, we're told after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Martha was inside being busy doing things to prepare a nice meal. She was probably focused on making sure everything was going to be just so while Mary, was more interested in hearing what Jesus had to say. Well, if you know the story, you know Martha got a little ticked off at her sister not helping her in the kitchen. So what does she do? She goes to Jesus and complains but she wasn't expecting the answer she received from him. He told her that Mary had chosen the better part. 

 

Martha probably walked away from Jesus with her head held in shame knowing what He'd said was the truth. Mary was sitting with the men at Jesus' feet learning profound truths while Martha was slaving away in the kitchen. 

 

Now Martha wasn't a terrible woman, someone had to prepare the meal, right? But her heart was not focused correctly. She was worried about all the tasks at hand and she was also frustrated and angry at her sister's lack of help. 

 

As I thought about what my daughter said about my grandson's question, I had to take a few minutes to regroup. Did he really think all I did every day was clean???? Hopefully not! But it made me realize, little eyes are watching. And they often see things we fail to see. What I'd rather him have said to his Mommy was, "Mom, when you get old, will you be a wise and godly woman like Gigi?" And of course, she would have answered, "I'd surely like to be." 

 

Out of the mouths of babes! You never know what they'll say. I'm thankful my daughter took time to share what she thought was a funny conversation with her son but to me, it was very thought provoking.

In our world, we'll always have the need for Marthas and Marys. But instead of deciding whether you want to be one or the other, why not try to be a little of both? Jesus said Mary chose the better part and isn't that what all of us want? 

 

As I wrap the cord of my vacuum cleaner up and get ready to put it away, I think I'll make a cup of coffee and sit down for a little bit with Jesus. We have a big conversation ahead. 

 

I hope this post has impacted you in a small way. Don't forget to seek the better part and don't forget to spread love. Jesus wants us to experience all there is from Him and it'd be best if we heed His advice. 

 

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)