Having a Mary Heart in a Christmas World

You can listen to this post on Refresh Her podcast.

If you find yourself feeling a bit anxious over the fact that Christmas is less than two weeks away, today’s blog should encourage you! By the end of this post, you will have four things you can do to slow down, take a breath and actually enjoy these next days!

Years ago I read and loved the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. In her book, Joanna Weaver described slowing down so we could enjoy worshiping Christ, rather than being caught up in all the things most women often drown in. It’s the pressure of all the activities and expectations we put on ourselves. I’m thinking today about how most of us probably need to stop and consider how we can have a “Mary heart in our Christmas World.” I’m going to share some simple things you can do that will help you to have the worshipful heart of Mary during this Christmas season, rather than the frantic “I have to do it all!” spirit of Martha.

1. Change your focus. Let me explain what I mean.
   I recently saw a clip of a comedian woman who said to the crowd, “I don’t mean to sound like everything falls on me at Christmas, but everything falls on me! I love my family, but they don’t do anything to help me. I do all the decorating, the cooking, the cleaning, the shopping the wrapping – all that. Last year on December 24, my husband said, “Can I help you do anything? I said, I’m going to beat you to death.”
   The crowd was roaring with laughter, and maybe we can nod in agreement, but the truth is, for most women, this is where our giftedness is. We love to shop. We love to gift wrap. We love to bake. So what’s the problem? We begin to look at everyone in our family and wonder why they don’t love it, too. They become our focus. We don’t like that they are different than we are. We get angry because we have to do it all. The change in our attitude must go from “I have to do everything” to “I get to serve my family.”
   Jesus said Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26
   A change in our focus will be a change in our attitude towards everything we put our hands to.
2. Multi-task jobs.
   While you’re baking, listen to a podcast that will encourage your heart.
   Listen to a book on the Libby app while you’re wrapping gifts.
   Watch/listen to a Christmas movie while you clean up the dishes.
   Put dinner in the crock pot while you’re baking so when the cookies are done, so is supper!
   Write one or two Christmas cards out in-between batches of cookies.
3. Pray about everything. Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” Realizing that we can do nothing on our own should push us to our knees every morning! Cry out to the Lord for wisdom to know what to do, when to do it, and also if something should be scratched off your list. I think it’s really easy for us to think that we are the heroines of Christmas! Maybe it doesn’t matter if we don’t make ALL the baked goods, or that we don’t go to everyone’s party or event. Maybe we need to scale down on our decorations, the number of cards we send, or the lavish gifts we want to give.
   It’s easy for us to come in wearing our apron, trays of cookies in hand, flour on our faces and the house decked out a float in the Macy Christmas Parade, waiting for our accolades, for the ooooo’s and ahhh’s for all our work. One of two things can happen at this moment – we will either be filled with pride, or dashed to pieces when the praise doesn’t come!
   We must remember that Jesus is the hero of Christmas…not us! If we change our focus, multi-task our jobs and pray about everything, we’ll be more prone to keeping Christ in His rightful place in our homes and our own hearts!
4. Stop and rest. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is take a nap. It’s amazing to me what a 10 or 15-minute power nap will do for me. It might keep us from being cranky, moody and irritable.
   This includes stopping in the morning and focusing on God’s Word. Don’t rush through your Bible reading so you can get to your to-do list.This is where Mary’s heart comes in to play. She spent time adoring and worshiping Christ. Don’t miss these precious times with Jesus.
   In the afternoon you might stop and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea.
   After working on your feet for a while, find a task to do sitting down.
   Get good rest at night. Go to bed on time and then get up early to get a good start on the day.
   

If your heart is beginning to feel like you want to hurt someone 😉 because no one else is helping,

Change your focus.
Multi-task your jobs.
Pray about everything
Stop and rest.

Your attitude will change and your frustrated “Martha Heart will be more like Mary’s in this Christmas world.

I spoke of reading the Bible – I’m getting ready to start a whole new year of reading through the Bible chronologically using The Bible Recap, with Tara Leigh Cobble. Be watching my blog posts in the near future to learn how you can join me and Whitney and a group of women who can encourage you to read through the Bible in 2024. Reading with a group is encouragement to keep pressing forward. No one will be looking at your progress, but seeing what others are learning can encourage your own spiritual growth! I hope you’ll join us!

Keep a Mary heart,