I decided to make an outfit for my oldest child for his baby dedication at our church. This is amusing, because I’d never sewn more than a straight seam for curtains and pillows.
I chose a pale-yellow, linen fabric and a sweet pattern that was a one-piece garment with a rounded collar. The outfit had a flat front, perfect for a monogram. I imagined how adorable my baby son would look with his white knee socks and white shoes.
It was a good thing I started the project early. It took me three weeks to finish it. I had no idea what I was doing. When things didn’t look quite right, I’d pull out the seam and have another go. When I sewed on the last button, I ironed the outfit and put it on a hanger. Looked pretty good to me!
Then I went to get it monogrammed. The woman behind the counter turned the outfit wrong side out and then looked up at me. “Honey, did you make this?” she asked, peering over her glasses.
I knew what she was thinking. She saw the mangled mess of threads and revisions and wondered if the garment was going to hold up long enough to have it monogrammed, much less for my 1-year-old son to wear it.
“Uh, yes, ma’am,” I responded.
“Did you know it’s not supposed to look like this?” she said, pointing to the inside.
“Well, he’ll only wear it once, so I’m hoping for the best!” I said, trying to laugh it off. She wasn’t amused.
But I’m happy to say that the outfit did hold up, and we still have those precious photos of my little one with his curly red hair, a sprinkle of freckles, and his pale-yellow, linen, monogrammed outfit that his momma made for him.
It was a failing success! And I had worked hard to fail well.
That’s one reason the story of Martha makes me feel better (Luke 10:38-42). She was a failing success, too.
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’”
– Luke 10:38-40, NIV
Martha was a doer. She was made to be industrious. She was busy, focused, determined, and effective. She created beauty that served a purpose and glorified Jesus. Her house looked great. The meal was no doubt yummy. Martha was right to serve. She was passionate, zealous, and willing. All of those are beautiful gifts.
And like the outfit I made for my infant son, Martha’s gifts all looked good “on the hanger.”
But as good as things looked on the outside, Martha’s perception of others’ physical needs eclipsed her ability to see her own spiritual need. She wanted to fix, to do, to feed, to nurture. She felt the pressure of this need, and she wanted the help of her sister, Mary, too.
Martha’s ministry to others left no space for her to receive the Lord’s ministry to her.
That was the “inside of her outfit,” so to speak.
Notice how Jesus responded to Martha after she complained about Mary not helping her.
“ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ”
– Luke 10:41-42, NIV
As you reflect on the story of Martha, join me in this prayer:
Lord, help me get in front of You first. Help me be still at Your feet and embrace the ways You want to minister to me. Fill me up so that my serving isn’t just a successful failure. Help me care more about my inside than my outside, so that loving others is the overflow from You.
Mary-ify me,
so Martha me
is free
to be
and
made complete
at your feet.
“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.”
– John 15:4, MSG
Suzy Stjernstrom
South Central Field Director
Inspirational