Her throat is clenched squeezing the stale air that is trying to escape. Her chest is tight only allowing for short shallow breaths. A deep nagging in her shoulders and back create a restlessness in her body as she tries to sit still. She craves the ability to let go of the things that distract her from being fully present with her children.
Her mind feel’s heavy with thoughts that lay trapped behind her eyes –these weighty burdens are evident by the scowl on her brow that she is unable to lift.
Her daughter’s sweet blue eyes turn to meet hers.
She purses her lips while curling the corners of her mouth and simultaneously squinting her eyes into a smile. With a deep inhale through her nostrils her chest elevates, her shoulders rise and then her breath gets stuck, forcing her to part her lips and let out a heavy sigh.
She was watching her daughter play with her jewelry set, admiring her blonde curls when she glanced over at her mommy – making sure to let her daughter know “all is well” she quickly changed her pensive look into a smile but her husband, sitting in the other room knew better. “What is the matter?” He asks. “Why the sigh?”
“Nothing.” She tries to assure him. But he knows better and her discontentment troubles his heart.
She is really thinking “I am exhausted. My belly is bloated, my muscles are tight and sore, my mind is heavy. I never feel rested and the work is never done.”
After dinner she stands cleaning the dishes when she remembers the wet clothes that need to be changed over to the dryer. After diverting her children’s attention away from endless and playful pleas for her help destroying the living room with toys and games she returns to the kitchen to wipe down the counters and mop the floor. Finally, she tiredly crawls into bed with her daughter to read her , her favorite nighttime stories.
When ten o’clock approaches she is torn between going to bed, finishing picking up the house and spending time with her husband watching TV.
She undoubtedly closes her eyes just past midnight having picked up the house, prepared tomorrows lunches, paid a few bills, finished the laundry and spent a quality hour with her husband.
The alarm goes off at 5:30 AM . Dressed, she steps into the day greeting her husband, children and coworkers wearing her well-rehearsed pursed mouth, curled lip squinted eyed smile. She feels heavy minded, with a tight chest and nagging tension in her shoulders. A stale breath struggles to leave through her clenched throat.
A sigh.
When we feel exhausted it is truly difficult to consistently put energy into healthy choices that take effort.
Are you having a hard time staying consistent with following through on healthy choices whether it’s getting enough rest, eating nutritious foods, moving your body on a regular basis, staying hydrated , or giving your full, undivided attention to the ones you love? You are not alone.
As mothers we are prone to “Martha” mentality and tend to look to others in comparison of our ability to serve, host, be a good homemaker, mother, and wife.
“Distracted with serving. Worried and troubled about many things.”
It’s exhausting keeping up with "Martha." We are inclined to ask the Lord, if we haven't first commiserated with another,
“..but I am doing all of this for my family ALONE. I am working , I am taking care of the home, I am cleaning, doing crafts, cooking, I am serving the community…. While my husband or let's insert another mother such as “Mary” sits to rest. “ Shouldn’t I have help!? “
We are constantly picking up and straightening to turn around and see that it’s all been for not. The mess and untidiness returns. We are cooking and crafting with our kids perhaps with know acknowledgement of our effort. We are serving in the community, our neighbors and family perhaps without affirmation or return.
We are mothers with a "Martha mentality" that need to humbly inquire of the Lord daily to help us live as women who have a reverence for Christ, much like the mother and wife whose worth is described as “far above rubies” in Proverbs 31.
Consider the Martha mentality a blessing, as an opportunity to empty yourself and be filled with His spirit so you may feel energized and committed to choosing healthy habits consistently.
The virtuous wife described in Proverbs 31 seems to have supernatural ability to always support her husband in the way that ne needs her to, work with her hands sewing and crafting, cook the most delicious foods, rise early, provide for her family and her servants , dress herself and her family in the best, serve the poor, and run a business with profitable gains all while having "toned arms." To us with the "Martha Mentality" she can be annoyingly grateful and energized making what we strive to accomplish ourselves look effortless.
With the Martha mentality we are focused on getting things done because we see them as a duty. This is demotivating and consumes our energy. The Virtuous women does all of these things not as a obligation but with respect and reverence for Christ with a deep understanding and knowing that nothing is ever complete but only , always tended to and nurtured by through the spirit. This allows her to feel energized rather than exhausted. Her ability to invest in life giving healthy choices consistently flows from His grace and ability daily. It's Christ who us "Marthas" see in such a women.
She faithfully dances daily with Christ. When a man and women dance together whether on a ballroom floor or on the stage of a ballet, it is the role of the man to make the lady look effortless as she moves across the floor.
Perhaps if we danced with Jesus, he would make our daily work feel effortless and we would draw another "Martha's" attention to Him too!
The clean house, Looks so beautiful. The perfect dinner on the table, beautiful! The crafts and playtime you devoted to your children, delightful. The affirmations we soak up, charming. The workout in and the meals prepped, appealing.
All is true and so is this,
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the lord, she shall be praised. “
I have a special downloadable for you that compliments today’s written inspiration. It is designed to help you take a Martha Mentality and turn it into a Virtuous Mindset so that you may begin experiencing the joy of making life giving choices consistently.
>>Contact me here<< or subscribe and comment below to receive your copy. If you find these blogs helpful, come join me in the >>Living Well community<< where we take these principles and dive deeper into them on a weekly basis !
Living Well is in service to mothers who desire a healthy lifestyle and the richness of God's grace. Please share today's written inspiration on Living Well if it may bless another.
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