Daily Archives: August 4, 2008
What are my goals?
Do you remember this story? The whole passage is Luke 10:38-42. I’ve often felt bad for Martha. She’s doing what she knows is expected of her while sweet little Mary completely ignores what’s considered proper and right, yet Martha receives the reprimand. It just doesn’t seem fair. And yet I know Martha was sacrificing what was great for what was only good. Such is the nature of distractions.
My week is pretty crazy. We had Zach’s birthday yesterday. On Wednesday the kids and I drive to Philadelphia where they will have a couple fun days with Grandma while I attend a writer’s conference. Then, on Saturday, we’ll grab Rick and our bags (which I am packing today and tomorrow) and drive to Cape Cod for a big family vacation with cousins and more. I had hired a babysitter to come today. The plan was for her to play with the kids while I finished up my proposal and preparation for the conference. (This is the first time I have EVER hired a babysitter so that I could do something for myself. Of course, I’ve been riddled with mom-guilt since making the phone call. It’s silly – right? Oh, but mom-guilt is a topic for another day.) Well, the phone rang early this morning: the babysitter is sick. So here I am distracted like Martha. I have lists of things that must be done and not near enough time to accomplish it all. I’m struggling to choose what is great over what is merely good.
I need to remember my goals.
Martha and I share this: we care about what people think. She wanted to please people with her wonderful hostess abilities, her clean home and lovely meals. I want to please people too — with my writing, my (sometimes) clean house, my stellar creativity, my brilliant children … the list goes on. And when someone disapproves of me or what I’ve produced, then I want to drop everything to prove I’m better than they think I am. I can meet their expectations! I can please them too. Slightly neurotic – right?
My life goal is to glorify God. It doesn’t matter what society deems “proper.” It doesn’t matter what people think of me. My goal is to bring Him glory by whatever means possible. Today that means staying focused, undistracted. It doesn’t matter if I pack the red shirt or the blue one as long as I get packed. It doesn’t matter if I can’t practice my pitch or finish my proposal (gulp!) as long as I pray and keep my kids safe and happy. The distractions are in the details and I need to focus on the big picture. At least for today.
