“It’s not a sin; it’s a crime.” I read those words in an article criticizing the reactions of Josh Duggar’s family to his behavior when he was a teenager. They sort of stopped me in my tracks because it made something glaringly obvious. Our culture no longer understands the concepts of God, sin or repentance.

It’s sort of ironic to me that I never watched the Duggar’s show, and yet, now, when they are in disgrace, their story holds a number of important lessons.

In my last post, I shared how we have a skewed view of forgiveness, and after reading multiple articles dissecting the whole Josh Duggar story, I realized we also have a skewed view of repentance – and I don’t just mean out in culture, but in our churches, as well.

Here’s the thing. Sin is a big deal to God. It’s really easy to point my finger at someone else’s sin, yet call mine a weakness or an issue. It’s easy to excuse myself and condemn someone else. I think we are all wired this way (at least I hope I’m not alone in this tendency).

Think about it – what did Eve really do? She ate an apple she wasn’t supposed to. On the surface, that doesn’t really seem like that big of a deal.

There are other times in the Bible, where I read the story and then scratch my head. For instance, in the Old Testament, a man went to gather sticks in the woods on the Sabbath. He was stoned.

In another Old Testament story, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark of the covenant because it was going to fall off of a cart. He was struck dead for his troubles.

Some of you might say, “Well, that’s the Old Testament, before grace.” Okay, well then, what about Ananias and Sapphira. They lied about how much they gave to look good. While that doesn’t smack of integrity, striking them both dead seems a bit harsh.

I’ll be honest and say, I have never really understood these stories. They seem to contradict a God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. They seem to be overkill (excuse the pun) for infractions that don’t seem like that big of a deal to me.

But, here’s the thing – I’m not God.

That seems obvious, I know, but follow me here. In his book, Come Follow Me, David Platt gives an example that finally resonated enough for me to get this.

If I slapped my friend, what would happen? Probably, she would be shocked and surprised, and I’d have to apologize pretty profusely.

Now, what if I slapped, say, a guy walking down the street? The outcome of that would be more iffy. He might just haul off and hit me back. He might call the police. Whatever happened, it would probably be worse than if I had slapped my friend.

Let’s take it a big step further – what if I slapped the leader of some Middle Eastern country? I would probably be dead. If I was really lucky, I’d be allowed to live but I’d probably be punished in some horrible, painful way.

What I consider not a big deal, is a much bigger deal to God, because it’s not what sin we commit, but who we commit the sin against that makes the difference.

So, going back to the the quote I started with – our culture thinks when we refer to sin, we mean it’s not that big of a deal. That a sin and a crime are somehow mutually exclusive. This is probably because we are always talking about God’s grace (which isn’t a bad thing), but we’ve cheapened grace to being kinda sorry for our sin.

This misrepresentation came about because of good intentions of sharing God’s love, but we have somehow left out a key ingredient to the whole thing – repentance. Without repentance, without an acknowledgement of real sin, what do we even need grace for anyway?

This might be because there are as many myths surrounding repentance as there are forgiveness.

So, what is repentance?

Repentance and being sorry are not the same thing. Repentance involves confessing to God and the appropriate parties what you have done wrong, taking complete responsibility for what you have done, turning in the opposite direction and walking away from that of which you are repenting.

Repentance is not a feeling. It is not empty words. It is an action.

A lot of people are afraid of true repentance because they do not understand God’s love.

In Romans 2:4 it says, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance.”

It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance – doesn’t that feel like the opposite of what you really believe? Do you usually link God’s kindness and repentance in the same sentence?

The thing is God wants us to repent, not just because He hates our sin and it is disgusting to Him, but because truly repenting is the best thing for us.

It is in His kindness that he breaks us. Not because He enjoys seeing us shattered, but because He did not create us to be sinners. He created us whole, and it is only through repentance that He can take the pieces that are our lives and rebuild us and restore us into what He created us to be.

The thing is, though, even though when we repent, God IS faithful to fully forgive and restore, that doesn’t mean that there are no consequences in this world. Our actions have consequences and trying to avoid them under the guise of “God’s grace” just makes it look like Christians sweep things – like sexual abuse – under the rug.

Yes, I believe we serve a God big enough to restore any sinner for even the vilest actions. After all, the Bible is full of people who did really bad stuff. David took another man’s wife, slept with her and then killed the husband to cover things up. Paul went around murdering Christians. Moses ended up a fugitive for 40 years after killing someone in cold blood.

However, true repentance leads to actions that restore and reconcile. That includes taking full responsibility if something we did was hurtful, destructive or criminal.

We don’t see this example of ignoring consequences in Scripture. A prime example is in a tiny book wedged in toward the end of the New Testament called Philemon.

This book shows what repentance and restoration/reconciliation really look like. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave and he ran away. Slavery was a fact of life in Paul’s time, and his primary purpose was to show both masters and slaves how they should act as believers.

Onesimus becomes a believer and he realizes that he has broken the law. He knows he should return to his master, but there is a very real threat of death if he does so. So, Paul writes to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus to encourage Philemon to offer forgiveness and grace, rather than the death penalty that was his right to inflict under Roman law.

You’ll notice Paul did not hide Onesimus away or encourage him to break the law. Instead, he encouraged Onesimus to do the right thing, but at the same time, Paul became his advocate, willing to walk alongside of Onesimus and go to bat for him.

Let me be really clear. What Josh Duggar did was a crime AND a sin. Under the law, the statues of limitations has run out and there is nothing our legal system can do to punishment Josh Duggar.

However, God cares very much about his victims. In Mark 9:42 (and also Luke 17:2 and Matthew 18:6), Jesus says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”

Even though the law can no longer touch Josh Duggar, God can and will – unless there is true repentance. I pray that that is the case for Josh Duggar. I hope that he has repented to his victims and has rebuilt their trust with his actions.

The grace and mercy given to us after repentance does not negate the awfulness of the sin. It does, however, show the love and greatness of a God who can take messy, broken, sinful creatures and make them whole again.

That is the essence of the Gospel. That is why it is called Good News.

Blessings, Rosanne

It was early Thursday morning on April 2nd, just before dawn. Most of the students at Garissa University College in Kenya, Africa, were asleep. The stillness of those early morning hours was shattered when militants stormed the school, throwing grenades and shooting guns and wielding machetes.

Mass chaos ensued, as students, many jolted from sleep, ran for their lives. The group, Al Shabab out of Somalia, claimed responsibility for the massacre.

Chilling accounts from survivors told of militants looking for those hiding and separating the Christians from the Muslims. Many students had to prove their Muslim status by answering questions from the Koran. Those who answered incorrectly were shot on the spot.

It wasn’t until late evening that authorities were able to contain the situation. By then, 148 people were dead, four of them members of the terrorist group.

While the attack was said to be in response to actions by Kenyan security forces against Al Shabab in Somalia, the group targeted Christians.

This winter has been a harrowing one for Christians around the world. With ISIS beheading believers, even young children, and other groups targeting believers, loving Jesus has never been so dangerous.

And yet tomorrow is Easter. Tomorrow is the day that sets Christianity apart from every other religion.

Because Jesus didn’t just die for us – He rose for us too. Unlike the central figures of Islam or Buddhism or Mormons, Jesus conquered the grave.

As I read about Al Shabab calling for attacks in the United States like their attacks in Kenya, I feel a chill of fear.

And it isn’t just terrorists on the other side of the world, either. As I read about the angry and often uninformed protesters of the Religious Freedom Act just passed in Indiana this week, and realize that most of them don’t even know what the act means yet it doesn’t stop the anger or hysteria, I feel apprehension snake up my spine.

It’s as if I can hear the drums of war in the distance. I can hear the tramp of feet and the first rumblings through the ground around me. It’s still in the distance, but I know the war on believers is drawing ever closer.

And I’m afraid. I’m afraid, not really for myself, but for my boys.

What kind of world will they live in? Will the days when you could go to church without fear, when you could live out your faith publicly without your life being in jeopardy, when Christian broadcasts and books and resources were so readily available we took them for granted – will those day seem distant and dreamlike. Will it be hard to remember what those days were like when my boys are my age?

And yet, tomorrow is Easter.

Tomorrow is the day I celebrate I serve a risen Savior. Tomorrow is the day I am reminded that while Satan won the battle, Jesus won the war.

In my frail humanity, when I read of these horrible atrocities, when I consider that they aren’t stories from across the globe but things that could happen here, it would be all too easy to let fear draw up a chair and take up residence, but I don’t have to.

Because tomorrow is Easter.

Tomorrow, I am reminded that I serve a Savior who is more than a conqueror and because I belong to Him, I am too. Tomorrow I am reminded that I no longer have to fear the grave because Jesus already been there, done that.

I weep for my sisters and brothers on the other side of the world that died because they loved Jesus. I weep for their family and friends who are mourning their loss. I weep for the students who survived but were terrorized in the process. After all, how do you sleep well again when you were awakened with gunshots and bloodshed?

But with the tears is the realization – those who are no longer with us are with Jesus. I am reminded that Al Shabab set out to kill and destroy, but all they really did was send believers to be with their Savior.

Because tomorrow is Easter.

Blessings, Rosanne

This morning, I opened my Bible study book. Whispers of Hope, and read today’s passage. I have to admit, I’m tired. The past few weeks have been a marathon of motion.

So, when I read the passage in Exodus and God showed me something completely different than what the Bible study author, I knew He had heard my prayer as I sat down. My prayer that went something like, “I want to spend time with You, but I am so tired this morning.”

It’s slightly ironic that Exodus 16 is about God giving manna to the Israelites. Manna has always been kind of fascinating to me- this heavenly food that fed the Israelites for 40 years. I wonder what it tasted like and if it even tasted the same to everyone.

Manna has always been this symbol of God’s provision. I’ve learned many lessons about God daily provision for us; about how God gives us what we need when we need it – not extra for a different day.How we don’t have to worry about how we will get through some horrible tragedy because He will give us what we need in that moment – that His grace is ALWAYS sufficient.

But the verses that stood out to me today – that shone like a beacon through the sea of my weariness – were tucked in toward the end.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:29-30

Every other day, manna fell, the people harvested it for that day only. If they tried to save extra, it turned all nasty and moldy.

On the sixth day, however, God provided for His people to rest by giving them twice the manna.

Did you catch that?

God provided for His people’s rest. He commanded them to take a day of rest. It was non-optional, and He thought it as so important, He made sure they had what they needed so they could rest.

Is that as profound to you as it was to me?

As a culture, this is one thing we are missing – rest. With technology, to be unplugged, you have to make a conscious decision. In this day and age, you can be available 24/7.

But we weren’t made to be available 24/7. We weren’t made to go and go and go. Without rest. Without any pauses. And trying to do it is killing us – physically, emotionally, spiritually.

God provides for OUR rest – not just the rest of His people centuries ago.

I needed to hear that this morning. I needed to know that God Himself provides for MY rest. He gives me what I need to take that rest.

The last couple weeks have been insane. One day last week, I had 31 things on my to do list. 31 things. And I did them all. I ran myself so ragged last week, that this week I have a cold.

Why do we run so fast and so hard? Why do I spend most of my days feeling overwhelmed and like I am never quite productive enough?

Why am I too busy to enjoy life, to focus on friendships and to develop relationships?

Because I am looking to myself, to my own answers and my own wisdom. I’m not seeing the provision God has made for my rest.

“Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble and you will find rest for your souls.” ~ Matthew 11:28, 29

Sometimes, I think we have this idea that to be spiritual we must run ourselves into the ground, chasing after impossible standards, impossible objectives.

In Jesus’ day, the spiritual people strove to follow an impossible set of rules and laws.

Jesus came to bring us grace, to give us a yoke that is light. Yet, while we would probably never dream of trying to follow every Old Testament Law, we still strive to earn salvation, earn more of God’s love by performing and being busy and running hard. All. The. Time. Without pause. Without rest.

While the Christian life isn’t easy and there is certainly hard work involved, it’s not a sprint. If we don’t pace ourselves, we won’t be able to finish the race well – or maybe even at all.

God’s just waiting for us to slow down long enough, to be still for a moment to see His provision for our rest. He was waiting for me to see that I can trust Him enough to rest in Him.

Instead of worrying about all I need to get done tomorrow and next week and next month, I can rest in God’s care today.

“So do not worry about tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

How do you rest in God’s provision? I’d love to hear about it!

Blessings, Rosanne

It’s so easy to say yes and then regret it later. It’s so easy to feel like you don’t have a choice, or that your time is not your own.

But the only person who is in charge of your schedule is you.

Our schedules and the way we spend our time should reflect our priorities. But so many times, at least in my own life, it doesn’t. It reflects other people’s priorities, other people’s values and other people’s emergencies.

Recently, I’ve been taking a hard look at my time and what I do with it. Maybe it is because my oldest son is heading toward the end of his junior year of high school. Suddenly, college looms and sending him off into the world is not just something in the distant future but a reality that will be here sooner than I am ready.

It makes me stop and take stock. So many things I meant to do as a parent, I never got around to because I was busy. This is not a post about self-bashing or shaming myself for not being the perfect parent. So far, I have yet to meet a perfect parent, and I’m pretty aware of my shortcomings and how God has filled the gaps (lots of gaps) for me.

But it does make me stop and think. In 5 short years, I will be in a completely different season of life. My kids will be 18 and 21. While they will probably come back to the nest for visits and summers, the reality is at that point they will have, in all the ways that matter, become independent.

For the past 16 years, I’ve been a hands on, in the trenches mom. In 5 short years that will completely change. I’ll always be their mom, but my role will be to take my hands off and let them fly – a flight based on the patterns they were taught during those years in the trenches.

It makes me aware, as never before, of the passing of each hour, each moment. What am I doing with those moments? Am I making the hours count? Or am I wasting them?

“There be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.

~Eph. 5:15-17

My word for last year was “Wholehearted.” This year, my word is “Carla,” and her  name reminds me we are not promised a certain amount of time. We only have this moment, this hour, this day.

I guess that is what I am asking myself some hard questions these days. Does my schedule and my time reflect that I am wholehearted in my obedience and surrender to God, or does it reflect a sort of halfhearted apathy? Am I looking and listening for God’s direction, and then actually doing it? Or am I putting it off until tomorrow?

Recently, two quotes in two different posts, really hit me between the eyes. The first one was in a post by Jeff Goins that you can read here where he quoted Lysa Terkeurst. The second was a post by Leigh Ann over at Intentional by Grace. You can read that one here. As I look at the remainder of this year, of the many pulls on my time, it reminds me to live my priorities rather than my emergencies.

“The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.” ~ Lysa Terkeurst

“There’s never a good time to pursue your dreams. There’s always a really good reason to wait. But at some point, even if you don’t have all the answers, you have to choose God’s best for you.” ~ Leigh Ann Dutton

So, how are you spending your soul?

Blessings, Rosanne

When the Israelites stepped into the Promised Land, their battles were just getting started. So many times when we enter our Promised Lands, the place God has been leading us maybe for years, it can sometimes seem like it is time to kick back and just enjoy the harvest of all our hard sowing.

The thing is though, if you’ve ever been around a farm during harvest season, kicking back is hardly the atmosphere. Instead, while it is true, the farmer is bringing in a bounty of blessing, it is hard work. There is nothing easy about it – even though it is a time for great joy and blessing.

The same can be said when we start living out our dreams. Sometimes, it’s just plain hard work. Today, I’m sharing about the hard work of dreams at the God Sized Dreams site. I hope you’ll stop on over and read about, and then stay to read some other posts about dreaming by other women who are not just talking about their dreams, but going out and following them!

P.S. I am currently doing a Bible study entitled Keep It Shut by Karen Ehman, so stay tuned for my new series coming next week about the fine art of Listening.

I know, it’s a little weird that my word of the year is a name, but there’s a good reason for that.

See, when my friend Carla died on November 17, 2014, I issued the Carla Dysert Challenge. At the time, I was trying to come to terms in my friend’s sudden death. I needed to find meaning in it – not for her death to just be a senseless tragedy. So, I challenged people to do what Carla did – to listen to what God said, look for the opportunities He showed her and then to obey.

A little over a month down the road, and I was staring at the end of the year with no idea of what my word for 2015 should be. I’ve been doing the one word challenge for several years now, and usually, long before the end of December rolls around, my word for the next year seems obvious.

It wasn’t this year. There were possibilities and glimmers of the path God wanted me to walk this year, but it wasn’t exactly clear.

Throughout the last few months, God has been showing me the importance of prayer. That phrase – the importance of prayer – seems so worn and mundane. But it’s like God has opened my eyes to the desperate need I have for prayer in my life. Of the huge power that I was missing in my life without dedicated prayer time.

Yet, Prayer really wasn’t the word.

I started thinking about how prayer was at the center of everything, like a pebble thrown into a pond – the ripples just kept going. So, I thought maybe Still would be my word because it all starts with being still and knowing He is God.

But Still wasn’t quite right either.

Because prayer, while vital and essential, can become a crutch to not act. It’s really easy to pray and to listen and to hear God, but then do nothing.

There is this really interesting part of the story of the parting of the Red Sea. In Exodus 14:15, the children of Israel are standing at the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army heading their way. They are completely terrified and believed they are going to die.

Moses is trying to reassure them and tells them, “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

There was certainly prayer, but God wanted them to move already. In verse 16, God says to Moses (you can almost hear His exasperation in the text), “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”

God did His part -He gave Moses the ability to divide the sea and He hardened the Egyptians’ hearts so they would go after the Israelites, but in order for God’s miracle to work, the Israelites had to actually move.

Being still, listening to God, praying – all those things are only part of the equation. We have to actually DO what God is telling us. We have to ACT on His instruction.

Yet Move or Do or Act didn’t seem right either.

As I was praying about my word a few days ago, the name Carla came to my mind. Carla? I asked. That seemed a little weird because it’s not like my goal is to BE Carla. As awesome as Carla was, God has given us different gifts and abilities. She was an event planner extraordinaire. Me, not so much.

She also had the energy of a gerbil on speed, and if you ask anyone, I am definitely NOT high speed anything!

Yet, the name Carla reminds me of the things I want to be true in my life. Like Carla, I want to be a woman of prayer and of the Word. I want to start at the feet of Jesus, to be still and listen. I want to walk through my days with my eyes and ears wide open to God’s still small voice and the opportunities He places in my path.

I also want the courage, the boldness, to do what God asks me – even if it seems a little weird, sometimes.

I want to be brave enough to be foolish for God.

Some of my biggest weaknesses are procrastination and lack of follow through. That is not something I want to define my life in 2015. I remember Carla saying to me once that so many people talked about doing things but never actually did them. I don’t want that to be me!

The more I mulled over the name Carla, the more I felt a certainty that this was my word for 2015 because the name Carla reminds me of all the things I want to be true of my life.

It also gives me the opportunity to continue Carla’s legacy in my own small way – a way to remember the gift of her friendship and the way she challenged me and continues to even after her death. I guess that is the best kind of legacy to leave.

Blessings, Rosanne

You might not be familiar with Rhoda in the Bible. While her appearance is limited to two verses, it is a story that always makes me smile.

You can find the story in Acts 12: 13-15. “When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.”

Just for a little background. Herod had started to persecute Christians. He had James put to death and when he saw it made the Jews happy, he arrested Peter. His plan was to execute him as well. The Christians gathered together to pray fervently for Peter and for his release.

Peter was in jail and between four squadrons of guards when an angel came to him. Peter was sleeping so soundly, the angel had to shake him awake. The angel led him out of the prison, and Peter found his way to the home of this gathering of Christians who were praying.

Little Rhoda was a servant girl (don’t you love that God chose to record the name of a serving girl in the Bible?) opens the gate and she is SO excited to see Peter that, instead of letting him in, she basically slams the gate in his face.

She runs in to tell everyone that Peter is there and he’s released. Nobody believes her and insist that she is crazy, but she insists. Meanwhile, Peter continues knocking on the door until someone finally let’s him in after ascertaining that he is not, in fact, an angel.

I love that the only one who believes that God answered their prayers was Rhoda, a serving girl. It’s such a great story of a simple faith. Rhoda didn’t need to be convinced. They had prayed and God had answered. The proof was Peter standing at the door.

I also love her exuberant joy in answered prayer. There is no hesitation at all – just an overwhelming joy.

I can learn from that. So many times, I am hesitant to believe God has, indeed, answered my prayer. I wonder if I am reading into something or there is another shoe waiting to drop. I can learn a lot from Rhoda’s simple, exuberant faith. How about you?

Blessings, Rosanne

Lydia is only mentioned a few times in the New Testament and one of those was at her conversion. You find the story in Act 16:14.

“A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”

I love that Lydia was the very first European convert. I love that God opened her heart to respond to the things Paul spoke and the first person whose heart He opened was a woman.

From the verse, we know a couple things about Lydia. She was a seller of purple fabric so she was probably a woman of prominence and wealth. For one thing, purple dye was expensive and purple fabric would have been considered a luxury item. She also invited foreign men into her home and there is no man mentioned. It’s commonly thought she was a wealthy, well-connected widow.

The second thing we notice is that she was a worshiper of God. She acknowledged who He was but she didn’t know about Jesus.

I think there is a key thing we can learn from Lydia though.  You’ll notice it says that the LORD opened her heart, and she responded.

In order to respond to what we hear, we have to let God open our hearts. It’s easy to keep our heart closed or to let it get hard or even calloused.

There is so much going on in this world, it’s easy to not even hear when God is whispering our names, but Lydia was ready. She already worshiped God. She was primed for the next step – to respond.

How is your heart these days? Is it soft and easy for God to open?

Blessings, Rosanne

Yesterday, we talked about the story of Martha, but the other main player in that story was Mary. Mary was the one who got it right in the story.

Again the story is recorded in Luke 10:38-42. Isn’t it interesting that a story with such impact only takes up five verses?

“Now they were traveling along, He entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha you are worried and bothered by so many thing; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Yesterday, I also confessed that, out of a weird mix of good intentions and pride, I’ve over committed myself this fall season. It wasn’t until I took a page out of Mary’s book that I even realized why I was so stressed and out of sorts.

I had been finishing up a study by Kay Arthur on spiritual warfare. As I got to the last week’s work (hurrying to get done, of course, because I had the Nehemiah thing getting ready to start!), there was a huge emphasis on prayer as an offensive spiritual weapon. It seemed everywhere I turned over the course of two weeks emphasized the importance of prayer.

Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest says, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work.”

In Colossians 4:12 it says of Epaphras that he was “always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.”

I often think the outward work of doing is what God wants me to do, but what Mary did – sitting at the feet of Jesus, is what we do figuratively when we pray.

Last Wednesday, I decided I was just going to pray. I wasn’t going to look at the clock or anything else on my to do list. I was just going to pray until I was done -not because the clock said I was but because I had been fully present before God until HE was done.

Two and a half hours later, I got up from the couch, gathered my 3×5 cards with my verses and people’s prayer requests and started my day. It was later than I had intended, but suddenly I had some answers as to why I had been feeling blue and out of sorts.

Please don’t think I’m trying to come across as uber spiritual because I prayed one day for a long time. Honestly, that probably won’t be a daily or even weekly occurrence, but that day, I needed it. I needed to not be busy with all these things and just be still.

Mary knew this secret. She knew that her strength came, not from bustling about and doing, but by sitting and being with Jesus.

Mary didn’t always get it right though. When her brother Lazarus died, it was Martha that went out to talk to Jesus. It was Martha who stated her faith that even now, she believed Jesus could do anything. It was Martha who declared that she believed Jesus was the Christ, the very Son of God. Obviously, she was no longer distracted or busy with many things. She had figured out the most important thing.

Meanwhile, Mary was back in the house. Martha tells her that Jesus wants to see her and Mary hurries out to Him.

When she sees Him, she once again ends up at His feet, this time weeping, saying, “My brother would have lived if only You had come earlier.”

Several times in this passage it says that Jesus was deeply moved. Mary’s pain was especially moving to Him. Even though Mary hurt and she didn’t understand, she still found herself back at the feet of Jesus and it was there that she found His compassion.

God knows I need the obvious because the subtle usually flies under my radar (being busy and all!), and He led me to this story of Mary and Martha, right when I needed to read it again.

While there is definitely a time for action when God directs us to do something, the thing we can learn the most from Mary (and Martha) is that our doing is an overflow of our abiding.

When was the last time you slowed down enough to just be with Jesus?

Blessings, Rosanne