I flipped open my bible,
unsure of where to exactly start reading.
My eyes immediately jolted to what was already underlined and
highlighted on the page.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and
hatred with it.
I didn’t even need a
complete minute for those words to sting and resonate with me. This is Solomon’s version of the Mary and
Martha story. The one who invests in
hearts versus the one invested in the perfected tasks. We've all heard it and grasp how we should be
like Mary. But for people who like
lists, tasks, perfection, and presentation, we find so much joy in imitating
Martha…preparing the fattened ox,
NEVER accepting a dinner of herbs to
stand in the way of our reputation. I struggle
right at this moment. While I’d like to
say that I can bring a proverbial “fattened ox” to the table with love at the
same time, it's in the unmet expectations for that to be thrown out the
window really fast.
Moments when
the darn oven will never pre-heat, my dear husband forgot the main ingredients
at the market, my daughter’s crying the entire time I cook, or all of my measuring
spoons are at the bottom of the sink piled high with dishes. At these moments I have to choose……fattened ox
or love?
Fattened ox or
love. I hear it chanting in my head on
too many occasions now, and I can’t seem to ignore it.
Sometimes we all just need to cuddle in the chaos, eat corn flakes (cardboard) for dinner, or walk to bed on a carpet of clothes. Maybe even turn off the kitchen light knowing there is a counter and sink full of dishes, or refuse to fix all the slanted picture frames on the wall.
For all you stay at home moms out there, 4:30 is my mass crazy
run around time of the day. It’s the
time to do a “quick sweep” of all the craft supplies and fabric, actually look
in the mirror and see what I look like, and get dinner started before my man
walks in the door. If time escapes me
and he walks in to the disaster strewn everywhere (much like my hair), I find myself
incessantly apologizing even before “I love you” is off my lips.
“Who cares? Just come and
lay on the bed while I change my clothes so we can catch up about the day. We can get started on dinner together after
that.”
That
man sometimes…I tell ya…he doesn't even know how much his words are sent from
Jesus.
So yeah, if you ever come over my house and the place is a wreck and we're eating cereal for dinner you can say to yourself "she chose love today." Perfecting Christ’s love in my heart last a whole lot longer than that fancy recipe.
