Luke 10: 38-42 (NIV)
"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her door to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha" the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Jesus' message to us in this scripture is loud and clear, we must prioritise spending time in his presence. With the pressures of life; family work and ministry, one can feel rather stretched timewise. However, this serves as no excuse and it is our responsibility to apportion our time well. We must make the decision to take time out of our busy schedules to sit at the feet of Jesus. The Christian walk is no easy one and we will grow weary if we try to do things in our own strength. We have to arrive at the place of accepting we need God, we need to be replenished in order to give out otherwise we will dry out.
I believe as women we struggle in this area far more than men as the majority of us are homemakers. We ensure that everything is put in place, our families (sometimes immediate and extended) are clothed, warm and generally attended to. We tend to put ourselves on the back burner and meet the needs of others first. The problem here is we cannot be effective if we do not look after ourselves; spiritually, emotionally and physically.
Take a few moments to reflect on your lifestyle; do you set aside time to spend with God or do you pack your day with endless activities? Activities are not wrong in themselves but they alone will not feed you spiritually.
What are your priorities?
What is your focus as this is where you will apportion time?