Double Post

I wrote this post for the Mommy-blog I post on, and since it was a post that I couldn't stop thinking about for two weeks, I thought I would re-post it here.


                                                             Martha And Mary

Sorry for the brief hiatus. We, at the Johnson household have been struck with the flu, and with the wonderful world we call chaos. However, I have been thinking about this post for quite some time.

I have been an avid reader since I was four. When we were little kids, my mom would read stories to us on the couch at night time. She read many novels, and she would always stop at pivotal points and make us wait until the next night to hear what was happening.

Incidentally, my mom always made time to play with us, cook with us, read with us, and be with us. She was an exemplar of sacrifice.

Today, I wanted to write about a story out of the Bible. Regardless of your religious affiliation, the Bible is a wonderful piece of literature from which to gain invaluable life lessons. I believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.

In the Bible, in the book of Luke, we learn a great lesson; a lesson that has offered me insurmountable wisdom as I have entered the world of motherhood; and I believe it teaches me what my Mom spent years and years trying to impart to her children.

Jesus had come to the village where Martha and her sister Mary were, and Martha invited Jesus into her house. While He was there, Mary sat with Him and listened. Meanwhile, Martha was busy working; probably doing all the things she felt should be done. (Any one else suffer from this???)

Then, she said (if I had said it, it would have been in a very martyr-like tone) "Dost thou care not that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me."
Jesus answered and said unto her, "Martha, Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part...."

Many days of my motherhood, I have spent my time cleaning my house. I have spent time, doing laundry, dishes, ironing, and putting things away. I have really started thinking about Jesus' comment to Martha when he says. "But one thing is needful."

One thing is needful.

Right now, I have one needful thing, in the way of two beautiful children and a husband. When I am busy washing the dishes, and my four year old asks, Mama, can you play guys with me? Or my two year old asks Mama, can you get me? WHAT IS NEEDFUL?

I had a girlfriend who reminded me recently that the reason we clean is so that we don't get sick. Being troubled about many things because we are too busy doing the things we think we should do, and not enough time doing the needful things can be exhausting; Believe me.

But, I believe as we come to pay attention to the needful things, and to sit with our children and read to them, or play with them, or cook with them, or talk with them, or...you get my point, that we learn the lessons as mothers we are intended to learn.

My mom told me recently that there is plenty of time when the kids are older and leaving home to worry about the needful thing of having a clean house. But, right now...


What is needful?