The mist from the prior evening’s rain was frozen solid in the shade at the Toledo Museum of Art in December. As my best friend and I skated every-so-gracefully out of the shadows of the parking garage into the sunshine, we’d just wrapped up an intriguing chat about those famous sisters—Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42).

Scripture + my bestie + art? This may have been my best day ever.

As a self-proclaimed Martha, I’ve revisited this Scripture again and again. One question has always plagued me—and I chatted about it that day with my self-proclaimed “Mary” friend:

Wasn’t there stuff that needed to get done?

I know Martha was fussing at Mary (which obviously isn’t very Christ-like, and Christ called her on it), but wasn’t Martha’s busyness kind of... necessary? Those disciples wanted to eat, right? (Assuming Jesus wasn’t going to pull a water-to-wine + fishes-loaves miracle last minute.)

In all honesty, there’s a large part of me that has always wanted to be in that room to jump in and defend Martha a little...

“Jesus, that all sounds awesome, but she’s trying to serve everyone... She may need some help. Maybe Mary is ALWAYS dumping the load on Martha. Maybe Martha is kind of overwhelmed.”

^ Note that this wouldn’t be the first time my mouth got me into big trouble.

Herein lies the tension I think almost every modern woman feels in her struggle to be both efficient and present: how do we do both? How do we vacillate between what feels like extremes at a moment’s notice? Aren’t both mentalities necessary, depending on the moment?

There is movement after movement and tagline after tagline...
Be present. Be still. Wait on the Lord. Savor the moment. The days are long, but the years are short.
All the while we hear: Work smart, not hard. Seize the day.

We’re faced with bloggers and authors telling us we can “say goodbye to survival mode” and that homeschool moms can “teach from rest.” If we plan this way, have this checklist, use this system while also resting in the completeness of Christ, we can be the picture of success, too.

And they’re not wrong—but…

Since that day in December, I’ve been wrestling with what this really looks like in my life. Because as much as my smart mouth might want to pop back at Jesus about leaving Martha alone—she’s trying to help—I also know... He’s not wrong either. (Duh.)

“Jesus did not admonish Martha for being Martha. He admonished her for pushing Mary to be like her, and He admonished her for not being interruptible.”

For both women in this story, there was much to do. They’re hosting an impromptu party of more than a dozen men—probably for more than one meal. They can’t order Domino’s. They need to straighten up after these guys (I’m assuming constantly, ahem). They need to keep their bellies full, which means preparing meal after meal and then prepping for the next one to come.

They also didn’t have microwaves or quick-rise yeast. Ever milk a goat for the breakfast of 12+ hungry men? Me neither.

So yes, as hostesses, their hands were absolutely full. However. Jesus isn’t calling Martha away from her tasks. He’s calling her heart away from her bitterness about it. He’s calling her heart to treasure what’s right in front of her in the midst of the never-ending checklist.

As a type-A, control-freak, perfectionist who can get sucked into any task like it’s a black hole, I 100% get the inability to recognize that the God of the universe is literally sitting in your living room. I’d be exactly the same way. Consumed by the to-do list. A stark raving lunatic trying to make everything perfect before He even showed up.

Matter of fact, the whole shindig would never have happened because I would’ve melted down immediately beforehand after finding a rogue dirty fork in the sink and screaming: “NO ONE CARES ABOUT MAKING IT PERFECT LIKE I DO!!”
(We will pretend this has never happened before an over-planned birthday party…)

Ultimately, Jesus isn’t calling us to perfection. He’s not calling us from our giftings either (because hosting a brood of hungry men is absolutely a spiritual gift). What He was calling Martha to—and what Mary already knew—was a willingness to be interrupted.

(You know: the ability to stop what you’re doing and instead focus on something more significant without being super irrational, angry, or embittered about it.)

“He was commissioning us all to reorient our hearts so that the Great Commission (even inside our own homes) would always take precedence over even very necessary, life-giving tasks.”

Because—as God of the universe—He knew exactly what was coming. Since He knew how short His time was and carried an eternal perspective, He challenged Martha not to get so absorbed in her busyness and to-do list that she sacrificed the blessings of the present for the tyranny of the urgent.

He was commissioning all of us to reorient our hearts so that the Great Commission (even in the chaos of daily life) would take priority over even valid, noble tasks.

So often, the tension between the gentleness of a “Mary” and the drive of a “Martha” leaves us torn—feeling like we’re failing at both because we don’t know who we’re supposed to be.

But I propose an alternative:

I believe you already are a Martha or Mary-type. Whether in extremes or somewhere in the middle, you likely tend toward prioritizing either people or tasks. And God knows this.

Jesus didn’t admonish Martha for being Martha. He admonished her for trying to make Mary be like her.
He admonished her for not being willing to be interrupted in her busyness.

She wasn’t interruptible.

Even though her to-do list was 100% valid and important, she wasn’t keeping her spirit open to the blessings right around her. She wasn’t willing to press pause and rest in the good gift staring her in the face.

Rest easy, friend—Marys are no better than Marthas, and vice versa. There is no Enneagram number or Myers-Briggs type that’s more holy than another. A Mary can let tasks slip and become overwhelmed. A Martha can let tasks eclipse her people. We are all in progress.

But no matter how we’re wired, there are two profound truths we have to cling to:

1. We are called to prayerfully bend our personality and submit it to the will of our Father.

2. We must be willing to be interrupted.

He called Martha to interruption.
He praised Mary for allowing interruption.
He called the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:21 to interrupt his plans.
He called the disciples to drop everything and follow Him.

He told them to lay aside whatever felt urgent and precious and to instead see the gift right in front of them.

He’s calling us to do the same.

To live with enough faith, enough self-control, enough margin, and enough presence of mind to hold our plans loosely—so we can receive the precious gifts He places right in front of us.

He simply asks us to be willing to be interrupted.

Want a phone wallpaper to help you remind yourself to set things aside for a moment? Click the image below to download now!