DAY 5: Be Honest
Year after year after year the tension had been building inside of her. Worries and cares had slowly but surely overgrown her life source. Carefully concealed yet deep rooted bitterness, feelings of unfair treatment and helplessness kept nagging her, worried her, kept her up at night, made her feel agitated and restless. Long before Mary ever chose the good part Martha felt she had been assigned the hard part. Yet still she pushed on. That night in Bethany she was ready to shine. The master, the famous teacher had come to her home.
In the midst of scurrying and serving and wiping the sweat from her forehead she noticed Mary. Mary's enjoyment of Jesus that night was the drop that finally caused the barrel to overflow. Years of pent-up pain and anger cascaded and unraveled in the presence of the humble carpenter from Nazareth. An uncomfortable silence unfurled in the room as the cutting remark of Martha interrupted the cheerful company. The disciples looked at each other awkwardly. Mary held her breath.
Yet I believe all of heaven was cheering (Luke 15:7). Heaven gave a standing ovation that night when Martha stopped pretending and concealing her deepest pain. Unruffled by the accusation, Perfect Love peered right through the layers of unspoken communication and with a surgeon's precision unraveled the true sickness at the bottom of her heart.
What if Jesus stopped in Bethany that night not mainly because He needed a dinner and a place to lay His head but to remove the heavy yoke from Martha's shoulders, to take her crushing burdens and to fill her dreary hut with laughter, company and a life-changing encounter.
Healing starts with being honest.