MOMMY MACHINES - THE CURE FOR "MARTHA-ITIS"

WHAT ARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT NEED TO BE PRESENT IN ORDER FOR A WOMAN TO MORPH IN TO A MOMMY MACHINE? Yesterday's blog stated:  Circumstance #1 is POWERLESSNESS. Today we will quickly look at the primary reason for POWERLESSNESS.. and it is...

CIRCUMSTANCE # 2 - "MARTHA-ITIS"

Luke 10:38-42 describes the primary carrier of the disease. Jesus stopped at the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Martha got  busy preparing the food.   Her sister Mary sat and listened to Jesus.  When Martha complained to Jesus about Mary's "laziness" He instead corrected Martha for her "busyness."  He said,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.
There is only one thing worth being concerned about. 
Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”  
Jesus identifies that it wasn't just TODAY that was getting to Martha ...there were deeper issues bothering Martha.
The primary symptoms of Martha-itis are:

1-    Being bothered and worried about many things.
2-   Annoyance at others for not helping you accomplish your work.
3-   A feeling of being taken advantage of by others.
4-   Assuming Jesus is also annoyed at people who don't help you.
5-   Lack of discernment over what is important in life and what isn't.
6-   Feeling like a martyr.
7-   Anger at others. Complaining, murmuring and resentment.
8-   Telling Jesus what to do concerning His 'lazy" followers.
9-    Accusing Jesus for not caring about your work overload. 
10-  Being too busy to sit at Jesus feet.

I confess - Mrs. Older is a recovering Martha-itis Sufferer. 
I won't tell you what to do.. but.. I will tell you what I did to be cured of Martha-itis.

• I built my day on the truth that God will supply all my needs and this includes enough TIME each day to accomplish what I need to accomplish.  If I don't have enough time it's always an indication that I am wasting it on something I shouldn't.
• I had to admit that I was cramming too much stuff in to my days. 
• I had to reevaluate WHY I doing WHAT I was doing?  Was it to glorify God? If not, then it was optional. 
• I learned to say "NO". I had trouble saying "NO" at first, so I'd say, "Let me think about it" when people would ask me to teach a class at church, or run an event at school, or invite me to a social event during a week that was already over-committed.  

Finally.... I accepted that Jesus was speaking UTTER TRUTH when He told Martha that ONLY ONE THING really MATTERS.   SITTING AT HIS FEET.

Mary wasn't settling for a perfunctory time of "having her devotions"..... she was WITH JESUS... HEARING HIS HEART.   She was IN HIS PRESENCE.  HE said, "My sheep HEAR MY VOICE." He is Truth. He cannot lie.
To stop being a Mommy Machine you will need the JOY and REFRESHING that comes from sitting at Jesus feet. This takes time. It isn't the same as going to church and sitting through a twenty minute worship set. It means getting alone. It means taking the time to read His Word and ask and allow The Holy Spirit to explain it to you. Time to tell Jesus what your needs are, but more importantly taking the time to tell Him why you love Him; what you love about Him. Time to thank God for being willing to send His Only Son; Time to hear what the Holy Spirit wants to say to you.
IT.  TAKES. TIME.  Time that you have if you don't waste it on stuff that really doesn't matter.
It may require reevaluating every single commitment you have. It isn't easy.. but  it's worth it. 
One thing matters. Find it. And it will NEVER be taken away.
I love you all, but Jesus loves you more.
Mrs. Older



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