The Book That Started It All

In general, I am a pretty task-driven and goal-oriented person. Checklists are my jam and I gobble up new responsibilities. I never viewed this as a special gift or passion. I just thought I was especially good at “adulting”. Shouldn’t everyone strive to be that way? Like my first car and the way I approached shoe shopping, I was PRACTICAL.

As I approached my 40’s I started to feel restless. Every item I marked off my checklist would be replaced by 10 more items. I felt like I was drowning in tasks but never getting ahead. I was lacking passion, but PRACTICAL people don’t need passion.

Around this time, my church offered a book study. As someone who enjoys the stoic routine of Catholicism, this was a rather novel idea (no pun intended). A handful of stressed out, working moms met once a week for six weeks to discuss Joanna Weaver’s bestseller, “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”. To briefly summarize the biblical story, found in the Gospel of Luke:

• Jesus comes for a visit.

• Martha is the responsible, task-oriented sister who is diligently cooking and cleaning the house, while Mary sits in the living room listening to Jesus’ stories.

• Martha gets irritated that Mary isn’t helping.

• She complains and Jesus tells her that she is focusing on the wrong things.

This book study, that I barely found time to race to after work once a week, opened my eyes. I was Martha and I was bitter. It was time for a change. Being PRACTICAL can be a gift, but not on its own. I’ve been a work in progress ever since. Diving into faith and finding a PURPOSE.

https://joannaweaverbooks.com/books-dvds/having-a-mary-heart-in-a-martha-world/