Begrudgingly, I sat to read my Bible today. I am grumpy. I don’t really feel well. I want to be taking a nap. Even better, I could be cleaning my disaster of a house, figuring out what’s for dinner, or tearing down my Christmas tree. Grrr. And what do I find? My devotional today is about settling my mind and not skimping on my time with the Lord. One of the scriptures used is Luke 10:38-42 – the story of Mary and Martha. For those who aren’t familiar, Jesus came to their house and Martha was busy with the hostessing while Mary sat and listened to the Lord. Martha complained, and Jesus told her Mary had made the better choice to be at His feet. Oh snap! She got burnt…and by Jesus no less. The New King James says “she had a sister called Mary, who ALSO sat at Jesus feet and heard his word”. This tells me that Martha too was (at some point) sitting to hear what Jesus had to say. Regardless of what chunk of time she was listening versus how long she spent in the kitchen, the point is, she was distracted. Not that she didn’t care to hear Jesus’s words, just that she was preoccupied with getting the bagel bites out of the oven. I always think Martha gets a bad rap. Probably because of all the conversations I’ve missed when people are in my home, all because I’m scurrying around making sure everything is done. So here’s what I’m taking from today’s lesson. There’s always tasks to be worked on. Mary simply decided that all the other stuff could wait. For the time Jesus was with her, He was priority number one. The Lord said (imagining Indiana Jones right now) she chose wisely. I need to make the same choice. God first. Not just first, but during my time with Him – I shouldn’t be distracted by anything else. The dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, working-out, baths and naps will be there when I’m finished. And I’ll be better equipped to handle them once I’ve had my time at Jesus feet.