at his feet

By Grace Anne
Image from www.weheartit.com

Life is crazy. We always seem to have a million things begging us for our attention. Homework needs to be done. Classes and practices have to be attended. Friends are calling and wanting to hang out or talk, asking why we’ve dropped off the face of the earth. Parents are reminding us that our room was supposed to be clean two weeks ago. We’re all either behind, struggling to catch up, or just waiting for the next task to be dumped upon us.

We have a lot going on.

I know that’s true for me. My to-do list seems to grow longer by the hour, no matter how much I try to get things done. It’s hard to keep up with everything!

We’re constantly surrounded by distractions. It seems that our stress levels get higher with every item that is added to our to-do list. So amidst all of these things that we need to do, where on the priority list does Jesus rank?

Everyone has been guilty of it at one point or another. We get so busy that we forget to spend time with God. We tell ourselves that as soon as we finish this essay, we’ll read the Bible. That as soon as we get home tonight, we’ll sit down and pray. But before we know it, we’ve fallen into bed, exhausted, having gone yet another day without spending any time with God. The days pile up, and soon it’s hard to even remember the last time that we actually had a quiet time.

In the Bible, there were two sisters, Mary and Martha, who were friends with Jesus. One day, Jesus went to Mary and Martha’s house for dinner. While He was there, Martha was bustling around, trying to prepare the meal and make sure that everything was ready to be served. Mary, however, was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him speak instead of helping her sister prepare.

Martha became frustrated. There was so much to do, and she didn’t want to be doing it all by herself! She said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

Jesus, however, responded by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her.”

Mary was not worried about getting everything done. She wasn’t worried about fixing the perfect meal, or making sure that everything was served on time. She was simply sitting at the feet of Jesus, absorbing everything that He had to say. She knew that listening to Him was more important than a meal.

Now, I’m not saying that you should go and abandon everything that you need to get done. We all have things in life that we are responsible for taking care of. However, at the same time, we have to keep in mind that Jesus really is the most important thing in our lives.

This semester has been a particularly overwhelming one for me. I’m a fairly easily stressed person, and it’s been a challenge to stay composed sometimes. Over and over again, I keep finding myself coming back to the song “Breathe” by Jonny Diaz.

Breathe, just breathe

Come and rest

At My feet

And be

Just be

Chaos calls

But all you really need

Is to just breathe

Maybe you don’t have time to sit down and have an hour long Bible study every single day. I get that. But could you set up Bible verses to pop up every day on your phone? Could you find little spaces of time during the day when you can pray, even if only for a few minutes? Could you listen to some worship music as you’re driving to school or to work? Spending time with God is important, and if you can make time throughout your day to focus on Him, it will make your life so much better.

We live in a world full of craziness. A world in which we all have a tendency to be more like Martha. So I have a challenge for you.

Be a Mary.

about the author

Grace Anne is a sixteen year old blogger from the southern US. She thrives off of theatre and books, and writing is her escape from the world. Cats never fail to make her smile, she loves music and good conversations, and she forever wishes to live by the ocean. You can find her over at Totally Graced!