Productive like Martha. Jesus-centered like Mary. I want in.
So I asked my mentor one day on a zoom call “How do I stop when my life is crazy busy?” She said, “Naty, when you can’t stop. At least shift gears.”
Effective Love
Having much, means managing more. “Effective love is rarely efficient. People take time. Relationships are messy. If we love others, how can we not be busy?” (Kevin DeYoung in Crazy Busy)
When tempted to attend our own pity party, may this reminder crash it “How quick I am to feel sorry for myself. .. How quick to conclude that God could never want me to struggle with tiredness or sickness for the sake of others.” (Worn-out pastor from Asia)
Paul had a long laundry list of suffering himself. 2 Corinthians 11:23-29
“I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
Effective love is rarely time efficient. And as I often apologize to my husband as I disrupt him to land me a hand with something, he always says “Sweetheart, I get to.”
It was at the Annual Convention Meeting this October when the clouds hung low leaving people claustrophobic… I suppose Belgium has that reputation. But it was then when 2 Corinthians 4:7 clicked as Pastor of Intl. Church of Dubai preached on it “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
“Clay jars were today’s Chinese-takeaway boxes. The insignificant. The disposable. The easily-broken and often changeable.”
We are replaceable.
Isn’t this truth as encouraging like the Belgium weather?
Since I find gloomy energizing, this visual ignited my fire in the belly. We are indeed replaceable. Hence, we get to. We get to serve. “Paul didn’t deny his weakness. He owned it. He repurposed it and reframed it.” My busy and my inconveniences become my platform of ministry.
My schedule might not get lighter. Even more, I must allow my soul to catch up to my feet to get perspective. So, shifting gears to get quality time with Jesus is vital.
Yes, the house needs fixing, the car maintaining, the pet needs the vet, the vet needs my pet… It’s a never-ending cycle of busy. We get to.
What a privilege to be used as replaceable Chinese-takeaway boxes, or so-called “jars of clay”. It’s a one-timer opportunity. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 ESV
Great Resources:
- Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanne Weaver
- Crazy Busy, by Kevin DeYoung