I am by no means a home owner. The closest thing I have to a home is my tiny college apartment in downtown Chicago shared with two other lovely women. But in 5 short months I will no longer live on a college campus. You see, in 5 months I will be marrying the love of my life and we will be moving into (most likely) an even smaller apartment in Chicago.
As I prepare to move out and start my own home, free of college apartment furniture and romen noodles, I have found that I am already held hostage by my new home, and I don't even have it yet. I'm sure you are wondering what I mean by "held hostage." And even I have yet to discover how deep this concept of "held hostage" goes but I will attempt to explain it via another woman caught up in the same problem. This woman's name is Martha and is most commonly know along side her sister Mary.
Martha was a woman whose home became her god. On the outside she seemed to be the most hospitable woman in the whole town and maybe she even had the best looking home, but on the inside she was constantly worried about the appearance of her home. Martha would spend hours cleaning her home and making sure it was perfect (which we all know is impossible), she probably rearranged her furniture at least once a month to keep up with the latest trends and who knows, maybe she even tried to paint a chevron design on her walls (cause we all know that's in style at the moment). But goodness, that's a lot of work and I'm sure it comes with a lot of stress.
Now lets stop here for a brief second, who can relate with this woman? I know I certainly can. I may not have a home but I am preparing for one and I can already feel it taking me hostage. I find myself wanting to have that picture perfect two story walk up apartment in downtown Chicago. I want the latest trends to mark my home and I want people to be "wowed" by my decorating skills and style as they walk in. But gosh, how much pressure is that?! I want to be able to enjoy my home with my new husband, not feel like I am a slave to it. For some women, their hostage situation may look different. For some women it may be the obsession to have an incredibly tidy house. Constantly cleaning and picking up messes, held hostage to worry that someone may come to visit and God forbid the kids forgot to take their shoes to their rooms! I know women who this is their hostage situation and it can take away tremendous amounts of joy from their lives. But Martha's story continues.
Martha lives with her sister Mary and one day Mary and Martha have a visitor to their house (insert panic attack), this visitor is none other than the Messiah, Jesus Christ (insert even larger panic attack). Now as you can imagine Martha is freaking out, she is scurrying around the house, mopping the floors, dusting the furniture, picking up the kids toys, all while trying to make the perfect meal. This is a lot to handle, and as you can imagine Martha is stressed and worried and when she finds her sister sitting on the couch laughing with Jesus she gets upset. "How dare you leave me to do everything alone, Jesus, tell her she needs to help me prepare the meal," she says upon seeing her sister relaxed on the couch with her savior. But Jesus' response is much different than one would expect "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice and it will not be taken away from her."
Now reading that response may cause an anger to stir inside you. Why is Jesus siding with Mary? He should give her a swift kick in the pants and tell her to help her sister with the meal. But instead Jesus responds that Mary is the one in the right. This doesn't seem right. But in reality, Jesus has just given Martha the one thing that she needs, freedom from her hostage situation. Jesus gave her freedom to sit with him and experience life that can only come through him and, with that life comes extreme joy.
This story is good news for those of us who feel like a slave to our homes. Jesus is giving us permission to leave the laundry and sit with him. He is freeing us from the lie that a perfect home is the reflection of a perfect life. He is showing us that the life we long for can only come through sitting with him. For me that is wonderful news, it is freeing and it brings a significant amount of joy back into my life. So for today, I am going to stop the obsessive planning of my new home and sit with my savior.
For those of you who feel like a hostage to your home, I would encourage you as well: take some time and sit with your savior and let him speak freedom over your life just as he did Martha and just as he is doing with me.
