This week’s reader’s question:
“How do I learn how to enjoy my life?”
Did you know that there is a distinct difference between merely existing and living? Existing simply means that you are present, but living is the quality of which you execute that presence. People who enjoy their life don’t just exist; they execute a quality of life that allows them to enjoy where they are on their way to where they are going.
Ask yourself this question, “Am I really enjoying my life or am I just existing?” If it’s the latter, don’t beat yourself up about it. We’ve all gone through seasons where there seemed to have been very little to celebrate or enjoy based what was occurring at that time in our lives. It may have been a grueling semester week of college, a hectic season at your business or workplace, or a tumultuous relationship. During times of hardship, it takes every ounce of strength you have just to get through it. Truth be told, existence seems pretty commendable under the circumstances. It’s so easy to set our minds to auto-pilot and our hands to doing the work of surviving. Brokenhearted or not bills still have to be paid, children have to be taken care of, spouses need affection, aging parents need attention, your job requires you to perform at a certain level, and the list goes on and on. For some of us, life has hit us with so many curve balls that our definition of winning is no longer accomplishing our dreams, but simply getting through the day without losing our minds. We juggle, we hustle, we serve, we put other people’s needs first, we try to balance…we are women.
And yet, when you read Luke 10:38-42, Jesus seems to give Martha a hard time for trying to be a good servant and complete the task at hand. In the text, Jesus passes through a certain village and Martha invites him into her home. She is a hospitable woman who recognizes an opportunity to serve the Master. She begins to prepare a meal for Jesus and she is concerned about everything being just right and in its proper place. Who wouldn’t be? Hello….it is JESUS we’re talking about! Talk about wanting to make a good impression. Now she has a sister named Mary who is also present, but she is of no help to Martha at the time because she is too preoccupied sitting at Jesus feet and listening to him teach. This dilemma may sound familiar to you. Have you ever felt like you could get more done, run faster, work harder, be more successful if the people around you who you expect to have your best interest at heart would just lend you some help? Well, that’s exactly how Martha felt. Finally, her frustration reaches its peak and she interrupts Jesus’ teaching and basically suggest that he right the wrong that has been done to her by reprimanding her sister for failing to help with the work. But Martha’s plan backfires. In fact, when Jesus speaks, it is Martha who he reprimands and not Mary. Now I know exactly what you’re thinking. How is that fair? Martha was the one who was working hard and Mary was just being lazy, right?
Look closer at the story. Jesus told Martha something so simple that if we as women would internalize it, we would have a lot of stress and frustration in our lives. He told Martha that she had misplaced passion. He told her that she had directed her passion to creating something FOR Him instead of directing her passion TO Him. Wow! When you really get that revelation, you will start to look at your agenda and daily to-do list a whole lot differently.
Where have you placed your passion first and foremost? Is it on the things of God or on God himself? If you are so caught up in the details of serving the Master that you have no time to actually listen to the Master then your passion is misplaced. If you are so busy getting your kids to every rehearsal, practice, and function that you are too tired to hear about how their day went then your passion is misplaced. If you are so consumed with serving others that you have no affection or energy left to give to your spouse then your passion is misplaced. If you are always prioritizing everyone else’s agenda and you never have time to be still and listen to sound of your own thoughts then your passion is misplaced. You are just existing and not living. You are going through the motions, but missing the beautiful scenery along the way. It’s time to unlock those dormant dreams and visions and unleash the champion inside of you. Jesus came so that you could have life and enjoy it to the fullest.
Get out of the details, Girly! God’s already got those under control. Harness the raw energy of your passion and focus it on God so that He can not only guide you to your destiny, but help you enjoy the trip as well.
Move forward on purpose
#confessionsofaprov31woman #thinkkingdom
E.M. 