This has been a very busy day. That is not so unusual except that today is Sunday. Sunday, as in, "Day of Rest," "Remember the Sabbath..." I found myself saying many times today, "This is NOT a day of rest." Now, I can't complain too much. I did manage to squeeze in a nap. And by "nap" I mean I laid down for an hour, started to doze off once, and mostly thought about what I should be doing instead. The day started with having to be at church early (8:00 - not terrible, just earlier than usual) to, in essence, prepare for worship. Then, after church, was a fairly leisurely lunch and the aforementioned nap attempt. At 3:00 I was back at church for a meeting about a ministry opportunity we are helping to launch. I left that meeting, before it was over, to rush to the student building for another meeting about a ministry I'm already involved in. I had to leave that meeting early to GO to the actual ministry. And now I've arrived home about 9:30. I would like to say I'm done for the day, but I need to work on some things I need to teach at ANOTHER church activity I'm involved with tomorrow after my full day of work. Does anyone see a problem here??? No, I am not trying to "toot my own horn." Far from it! If you think that, you have completely missed the point. I just can't help but wonder if this is the exact thing God was speaking of when He said, "Remember the Sabbath day..." Not, "Remember all your appointments at church on Sunday." "Remember the Sabbath day... to keep it holy." Did I have a "holy" day? I don't think so. Did I worship? I guess so. Somewhere in between worrying about the music and thinking ahead to what I had to do today, I think I took a couple of minutes to praise God. So now my whole Sabbath day has been whittled down to a few meaningful minutes and the rest filled with fluff. Actually, probably the best thing I did all day was to skip Sunday School
and sit with a friend for a while talking about life. Real life. Real encouragement. I knew the day was heading in the wrong direction when I walked out the door without my Bible. I disappointed myself with that one, and I should have let it change the course of my day. It didn't.
Here's the thing... The "stuff" I did all day was good stuff. We SHOULD be looking for ways to serve and not just occupy space and let other people feed us. Obviously, I get that. But where do we draw the line? At what point are we too busy "Serving God" that we neglect worshiping Him? I guess I just had a Martha day...
Luke 10:38-42
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.”
I need to learn to be still. I don't want to "grow weary in well-doing." I've been there. I probably AM there again. I am so thankful for all the opportunities I am given to use whatever gifts God has given me for His glory. But I get the feeling my busy-ness doesn't honor Him.
