Some days, a single fixation grips you, whether it’s a household glitch, an urgent fix-it project, or that nagging detail demanding just one more try. By evening, your to-do list mocks you: the blog post undone, the school paper untouched, hours vanished. Sound familiar? I’ve been there, staring at the clock, wondering how to reclaim what slipped away.
The Gospels capture this tension vividly. In Luke 10:38–42, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home but soon spirals into distraction. She’s consumed by preparations, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, absorbing His words. Jesus responds gently:
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion” (Luke 10:41–42, ESV).
Martha’s “many things” weren’t wrong in themselves, but her fixation blinded her to the better choice: abiding with Christ amid the chaos. Like Martha, we often let the urgent eclipse the eternal.
Folklore: The Drowning Man
Once, a man faced a raging flood. A boat came to rescue him, but he refused, insisting God would save him. Later, another boat came, he refused again. Finally, a helicopter hovered above, yet he still declined. When he died and met God, he asked why he hadn’t been saved. God replied, “I sent you help, each time, but you would not accept it.”
This story reminds us that God often sends help and provision, even amid chaos and distraction, but if we are too fixated on our tasks, our pain, or our plans, we can miss it entirely. The better portion is not always in our hands; sometimes it’s already provided, waiting for us to pause and receive it.
A Personal Mary Moment
For me, that better portion came through acupuncture. The pain wasn’t just from the needles, the tension in my body, the fatigue, the weight of everything I’d been carrying, it all pressed down on me. Yet I almost skipped the appointment because of all I “had” to do.
When I laid there, partially dark and quiet, the needles brought relief, even if it didn’t last as long as I would have liked. In that stillness, I poured my prayers to God, lifting my burdens and the people I love to His feet. Even though I couldn’t speak every thought because of the pain, the Holy Spirit met me there, refreshed my mind, and spoke to my soul. That quiet, painful, and healing moment became a sacred pause, my Mary moment amid the chaos.
To think I almost let that weekly prayer time pass because of pain and the distractions.
This Week’s Prayer
Father,
Quiet our Martha hands.
Awaken our Mary hearts.
In the rush, anchor us at Your feet.
Teach us the better portion.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Grace chooses:
- Not frantic service, but feet-by-feet stillness.
- Not empty busyness, but soul-full presence.
- Not divided loyalty, but undivided love.
Grace isn’t against your doing.
It’s for your being.
This is Grace Across Borders, where grace meets us in the tension.
Grace Across Borders: Biblical Lessons and Global Legends 
Leave a comment