The Good Parts

“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

Sitting in the kitchen this morning, watching silly dog eat her breakfast, it struck me how she spends quite a bit of time picking out the “good parts” of the food. I am a bit of a nut about what I feed our pets as I spent years teaching people about the benefits of raw foods, holistic foods, and cooking for your dog. Right now, because I am lazy, I have gone back to a grain free kibble with dehydrated raw chicken nuggets in it. As you would expect, silly dog would much rather have the nuggets than the kibble.

In addition to noticing her nugget habit, I also noticed what a mess she made around the bowl. Kibble was strewn everywhere. And, since I have yet to add sweeping up to her repertoire of tricks, I found myself growing upset at the idea that I would have to clean up after her.

As I sat grumbling about dogs and messes which turned into kids and messes which turned into life and messes, I realized that silly puppy had come along and cleaned up the stray kibble. What silly dog had pushed out of the bowl because she didn’t want it, silly puppy saw as an opportunity to satisfy his never ending quest for food. I found myself laughing as I realized the absurdity of being angry at the silly dog for doing what dogs do…pick out the good parts. I laughed even harder when I realized that what one dog pushes aside as “yucky”, another thinks it was put there just for him.

As my friends have decided to start our next devotion study using the book "Having A Mary Heart In A Martha World", I have been thinking about this particular scripture. Martha was so worried about the mess that she missed the good parts of what was occurring around her. She concentrated on cleaning up when she should have been concentrating on what Christ was trying to say to her. But I want to push even further into that scripture.

Christ didn’t tell Martha not to clean up and prepare. He told her that she was worried and upset for things that, in the bigger picture, didn’t matter. He told her that she was missing out on the “good part” by being worried and upset. If she would just sit down and share the better part with Mary, she would come to realize that the other things would be taken care of when the time was right. I would venture to say that Mary, when Christ took His leave, got up to help Martha with the cleanup. I am sure they talked of His Words, sharing and marveling at all He had said as they sat at His feet…..together.

I think of all the good parts I have missed out on because I was angry at the mess I thought was being made. How often have I been unable to share in the happiness of someone’s moment because all I saw was that they did not do what I suggested? How often have I missed out on God’s good part because I was busy judging instead of loving? How often have I ignored the need because I was grumbling at having to clean up the mess?

Dearest Father God, thank You once again for showing me that You’re the only “good part” I need to be concerned about. Give me the faith to sit at your feet even when I feel the need to control the mess. Let me always see that You are all I need to focus on. Let me realize that sometimes, cleaning up the mess is not my job. Thank You Father for being there for me. In Christ I pray, Amen

copyright 2012 Michelle Welch, Breath of Life Women's Ministries
photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved, copy with permission
scripture from NLV Bible