Martha or Mary?

I received an email today from Nathan. It was a reply to an email I sent him the end of March with his statement: “List completed!” I looked below, and saw the laundry-list of dates I had sent him regarding evening and weekend times I needed him- or a sitter- to watch the boys in April through graduation last Saturday. On the heels of finishing my small group book “Balance that Works When Life Doesn’t” by Susie Larson, I reflected on her writing and this past school year. (And yes, for those following and remember I posted many months ago about this book, we did take an entire school year to read one book :) ) 

The school year does have a natural ebb-and-flow, you can guess where April falls! But along with the business of work, there’s Mr. Evan and Mr. Jaden to worry about. With the warm weather they are non-stop on the go, all day and evening. This past month Evan got his first scraped knee, Jaden climbs on things that are way too high, and of course, when out of the stroller-they both go in opposite directions. We won’t even start about trying to keep a house clean with twin 1-yr-olds!

Squeezable fruit.....that's spill-proof, right?!

The last chapter of the book reflected about a passage from Luke 10 that I remember my dad referring to often growing up and even in recent years to me Thanksgiving weekend! 

          “Mary and Martha welcomed Jesus into their home. Both wanted to be near Him, both wanted to serve Him. Martha hurried to and fro, stressing about the food when the Source of all life was sitting in her living room. Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet and soaked in everything He had to say. Martha complained to Jesus and asked Him to talk to Mary. And this was His reply: “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won’t take it away from her.”’

When thinking about balance, I see that this passage doesn’t just refer to me being ‘Martha’ when we have company over, but me letting go of some of the ‘details’ of motherhood……i.e. stop looking at overly-organized pins on Pinterest! The boys get into everything, they don’t know how not to spill, and I promised I wasn’t going to write about Jaden’s new shoes that after just the 5 short minutes I let him play in the yard, the shoes and Jaden were covered in mud! 

The boys running out their energy at a stop during our last trip back to SD.

Believe it or not, the boys loved playing with blocks within this gate while Nathan and I planted our garden. 

And yes, looks like I have a details boy on my hands.......

But do all those details matter? Should I worry about them? No. But it’s easier to write than to do. I think, ironically, it really does take Balance. Finding that fine line of worrying enough for the safety of my boys, but yet, letting them have fun exploring and learning. And as I look at the dishes in the sink, I think I’m going to practice the chapter on Rest and go to bed!