The notion to get an early start on spring cleaning has taken hold of me. My husband and I have been thinking about getting rid of things, but it’s a little more than a desire for fewer surfaces where dust can accumulate. My head is full of projects: better manage my online/social media presence, do something with my abundant craft supplies, and fire up the sewing machine to finally tackle the mend-pile that’s been glaring at me for — well, never mind how long. A long time.
My main reason for wanting to do all these things? So they’ll be done and I can stop worrying about doing them.
It’s a hodge-podge to-do list of plans and intentions put off for a more opportune day, things I either want to do or feel I should, but everything on the list shares one common feature as a nagging concern, a bother and distraction. Lesser jobs accumulate like dust in the corners of my brain, where I should be composing essays or imagining dialog. My mind needs the spring cleaning at least as much as my house does. Writing demands mental labor, and it’s tough to do while distracted. The solution then is to remove the distractions, right?
Luke 10 recounts Jesus’ visit with Martha and her sister Mary. Martha welcomed Him into her home and Mary sat at His feet and listened to His word. Then it says in verses 40-42, “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”
With this Biblical example, I can relax my grand spring cleaning plans a bit, wouldn’t you say? The flaw in doing everything is that there will always be more to do, and only one thing is necessary – Jesus’ word. In tackling the little nagging distractions, I’ll aim at the perspective of whether my tasks have anything to do with the one thing that’s necessary. My question will be, “How does this honor and follow His word?” Once I’ve answered that, I can then either do or discard each task with peace.
