Are you Mary?Are you Martha? Are you both?

Look at that picture! You know, I've always thought in my head that people always talk so poorly about Martha was being such a busy woman, meanwhile, Mary, who hardly got anything done was always a good one. Jesus said that Mary chose better thing, but still it doesn't mean she chose the best. They both are out of balance!
The "Hidden Life" book that I menationed earlier talks about it and I was sitting in my chair saying "AMEN, SISTER! Preach it!" Finally, I hear what I've always wondered about.
"....It is helpful to see that there was nothing wrong with Martha's work; it was good. The tragedy was that her focus was so limited. If she had been lovingly attentive to the awesome reality of the presence of God with her in her work, she would have been able to serve those around her in love and peace without resentment.
The gift that Mary, the contemplative person, offers to Martha, the active person, is the call to slow down and expirience the beauty that is present in each moment. "Please, Martha, stop long enough to listen, to pray, to make little space in your life for God. Go sit by the window for a minute, go take a quiet walk; go anywhere you can and sit quietly and listen". Mary had chose the better part, but it still wasn't the best. She had not yet learned to take her long attention into the work that needed to be done. If Mary had taken the love she was receiving from Jesus and graciously offered it to Martha through service,she would have stilled the conflict Martha was feeling and brought peace to the situation.
Mary and Martha represent the conflict we all live with. When we are out of balance in either of these two ways of living, our relationships and our spiritual life suffer. The Mary in us has to be redeemed through our willingness to become servants in places where we may be very uncomfortable, the world of our reality. If we don't take our spirituality into real work we are called to , nothing will ever get done. The question for Martha in us is, "Can I do this work without feeling put upon and resentful but in love and gratitude?" That happens when we finally realize that our transformation requires that we bring loving attention and a sense of the abiding Presence into our work.
It takes the work and energy of a redeemed Martha to do God's work in the world, and it take compassion flowing through the redeemed Mary to draw people into the community of love. Our prayer is coming to receive this love, and our action is going out to offer it to the hungry hearts of others. When this happens, all of our service becomes prayer and all of our prayer becomes service...... (p.84)
Amen!I see the body of Christ full of Marthas and Marys and we all struggle with life that is out of balance. Help me , Lord, to become your true servant that is in perfect communion with you!
Every Martha and every Mary can also tend to get angry with each other. Glance again, at that picture above. There is that woman behind Martha probably whispering to her ear, "look at you, you work so hard , while your sister is doing nothing....it's not fair....you surely can use some help...does anyone care..at all???? does Jesus care that you sweat in that kitchen....."....next thing you know , Martha is confronting Mary....yes, our churches are full Marthas, Marys and voices behind..let's tune our hearts to the One and Only voice that we need to hear and obey. Let's be aware of His Presence whatever we do- that way we won't loose that precious connection with His very heart.