Overwhelmed and Stressed

Too often we go about our lives feeling overwhelmed and stressed. We lose sleep at night at the thought of the endless “to do” lists. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish the things we need to get done. Sadly, when a woman is spread too thin, her attitude changes for the worse. Martha, depicted in Luke chapter 10, was a woman who experienced this first hand. Alone in the kitchen without any help, Martha is consumed with the details of all the preparations she needed to do. Entertaining is her gifting, but that day she was not just entertaining ordinary guests, she was hosting the Messiah. She wanted everything to be perfect for Him. But the stress of the details started to weigh on her.

To make matters worse, her sister Mary wasn’t helping at all. Mary wasn’t even in the kitchen. She was in the living room sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him speak, while Martha worked tirelessly. I can just hear Martha grumbling to herself in the kitchen: "Must be nice to just sit while someone else is doing all the work. We were supposed to be doing this together!"

Did the preparations need to get done? Yes. Was Martha the right person for the job? Absolutely. So why was she feeling so frustrated?

Her fault was that she grew "cumbered with much serving," so that she forgot him, and only remembered the service. – Charles Spurgeon

Instead of focusing on what Mary wasn’t doing, Martha should have been focusing on what Mary was doing right. You see, Mary didn’t want to miss this special moment with Jesus. She allowed the words of Jesus to fill her up and encourage her spirit. She was being refreshed and renewed by her Savior. Then, and only then, would she be ready to take on her “to do” list.

Ladies, we cannot possibly accomplish all the things we need to without spending time with Jesus first. Jesus doesn’t just want our service, He wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants to be the source of our strength. He wants to pour into us so that we are equipped to take on anything that comes our way. But, we must allow him to fill us first.

Do you feel spread too thin? Is your attitude full of frustration and resentment? If yes, take a look at your time with Jesus. Is your time spent with Him just another check off your endless list, or is it quality time spent in the presence of the Lord. Jesus wants to fill you up and renew you. You just need to get out of the kitchen and head to the living room.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. – Revelations 3:20

Stop and Feed the Roses

I don’t have a green thumb. In fact, I have tried to keep three different orchid plants alive with no success. The instructions said I simply had to add three ice cubes to the pot, once a week, and my plant would flourish. That sounded easy enough, so I thought. After the third plant died, I finally gave in and bought an artificial one. Surprisingly, for the past several years, I have generated some pretty spectacular roses during the summertime. With very little effort on my part, my plants have produced some beautiful blooms. That is, until this year. You see, Connecticut had an abundance of caterpillars this spring, and they ate all the leaves off my rose bushes. All that remained were wiry branches without a bit of green or a rosebud in sight. I kept pruning them, but nothing happened. I had no idea how to restore these plants.

After some “rose consultation,” I learned that the roses simply needed fertilizer. Apparently, my bushes were starving for nourishment. Who knew roses needed to be fed? Well, probably anyone with a green thumb. But, not me.

I may not have a green thumb, but I can clearly recognize when a plant is dying. At the same time, it is obvious when a Christian life is suffering too. In some ways, we are very much like those rose bushes. We often go through periods without any growth in our lives. Our branches are bare, and we feel like we are wilting away. We are hungry for the things of God, but we’ve allowed the busyness of life to rob us of our growth.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

So what is the solution? For the roses, a trip to Home Depot did the job. For Christians, it’s a little more involved. We need to be constantly filling ourselves with the Holy Spirit through dedicated prayer time. We need to open up our Bibles and meditate on the Word of God every day. And, we need to make sure we are being fed in church, even during these summer months. I know the summer vacation season is busy, but we can never take a vacation from God.

Ladies, some of you are starving and you don’t even recognize it. You’ve allowed the busyness of life to rob you of times of spiritual nourishment. Pay attention to the warning signs in your life. Time in the Word and prayer are the best fertilizer you can apply. Don’t let another day pass. It is time to stop and feed the roses.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers.

Psalm 1:3