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A teaching on "There's Only One Thing Worth Being Concerned About" seems a strange topic for the beginning of a new year. Why? Most folks aren't thinking about just One Thing! They're thinking about a dozen things like how to pay off those credit card bills they ran up at Christmas, or how to shed those unwanted pounds they gained from eating three slices of Grandma's home-made pecan pie with double-whip cream on new year's day! And yet, at the beginning of this new year, I can't think of a better way to proclaim a year of victory over you than to share with you how you can actually attain it. The good news is, you don't have to work for victory in your life, and you can't earn it. Victory in your life comes through your one-on-one relationship with Christ, and the time you are willing to spend with Him. Having said that, living that truth is often easier said than done, especially for those of us who have a tendency to keep a lot of oars in the water! As always, when I need to be reminded of an important life lesson, God always uses my horses to show me the truth. Let me explain...
Many of you have been following the updates on my ministry horse, Samson. Since October of last year, he's been making a slow but steady recovery back to health after some labored breathing problems, and a serious injury to his back leg. While I've been very diligent in nursing him back to health, I've been less than observant of my own behavior - behavior that affects my horse and our relationship. To say I have a one-track mind is an understatement! I like a well-ordered world. I dot my i's and cross my t's. And I grow weary with people who don't! Endless projects, ministry commitments, office work, schedules, sticky reminder-notes everywhere, and multi-tasking are hallmarks of folks like me. The problem is, although none of these things are bad on the surface, nevertheless, they can and often do rob us of the one thing that is most important in life - quality relationships, especially with those we love. How do they rob us? By causing us to get caught up in all the "doing" instead of simply "being". Samson brought this lesson home for me the other day when I went to get him to put a bandage on his injured leg. It went something like this...
As always, I was on a mission, with no time to waste. Bandage Sam's leg, get back to the ministry office and finish up some last minute work, go to the post office and the printer's, stop at the grocery store and pick up something for dinner, and that was just for starters. My "to-do" list was always endless. As I turned towards the barn, my mind was racing like an over-scheduled day-planner. Entering the training pen, I caught my horse's eye and cued him to follow me closely. As I walked forward without glancing back, I felt a gentle nudge on my shoulder. Ignoring it, I took another step, and there it was again - not a disrespectful nudge, but a gentle, "please pay attention to me" kind of nudge. I turned around and looked at my horse sternly. Without the slightest hesitation, he lowered his head into my arms. "Alright, buddy, no time to play today. I've got work to do. Let's get this bandaging over with." With that, I gave him a quick love-rub over his eyes (his favorite place to be rubbed) and proceeded to walk once again towards the barn, cueing him to follow.
And again, I felt a gentle nudge. I turned to look at Samson and was prepared to put him in a swift back-up for correction. After all, perhaps a little lesson in respect was all he needed. But there it was - that look again, as if to say, "I'm still waiting for you to pay attention to me." And once again, he buried his head in my arms. Suddenly, there in the middle of the training pen, the message my horse was trying to convey hit me like a ton of bricks. Samson didn't care about all my work, or my schedule. He just wanted to spend time with me. As best I could, I pushed the thoughts of my endless to-do list out of my mind, and began to play with Samson at liberty. It felt good, like old, less hurried times. Soon, I noticed that the sun had begun to slowly fade behind the clouds, and I realized we'd been playing together for hours. Where had the time gone? And then I realized something else. While my horse and I were immersed in eachother's company, I had no cares in the world, nothing else mattered, not his injured leg, not my busy schedule, absolutely nothing. There was nothing but the two of us, and our relationship. And for one glorious afternoon, time belonged to us once again.
OUR TIMES BELONG TO GOD
But I trust in you, Lord; I say,
"You are my God. My times are
in your hands; ..."
(Psalm 31: 14, NIV)
When it comes to the women of the Bible, many of us gals "get" Martha completely. What is it that we get about Martha? We get that Martha was often over-worked, and over-whelmed! We can also tell from Luke 10:38-42 (see scripture at top of newsletter) that along with being pretty savvy at getting stuff done, Martha was not afraid to speak her mind. But more on that in a moment. For now, suffice to say that Martha was a very congenial person. She liked people, and she liked to entertain friends and family. She not only invited Jesus to her home for a home-cooked meal, but his disciples, too.
Of course, it goes without saying that any woman who has ever had special guests over for dinner knows that there's a well-ordered science to pulling off this kind of thing in an efficient and timely manner!
First, you have to clean house for days, then plan the menu, then prepare the food, then serve the food, all the while trying to look carefree and amazing like you've not done a thing! You also have to be a master of good timing - timing the guest's arrival, timing the turkey in the oven, timing everybody else's timing, and so on. And then, as if that's not enough, you have to time the perfect moment to put on your party dress, slap on your make-up, and put on an "I'm not the least bit exhausted" smile! Such an orchestration of well-timed hospitality is enough to give most people a heart attack, but not Martha. Martha was inexhaustible, well, almost. At least for a brief moment, all the work seemed worth it, as one by one the guests wiped the last lingering morsels of delectable food from their lips, folded their napkins nicely, and placed them back on the table as if on cue, and declared, "That's the best turkey I ever had! You're amazing. How do you do it?" For a fleeting moment, Martha basked in the reward of her labor. But then, reality set in...
As Martha stood alone in the kitchen, the sounds of laughter and engaging conversation could be heard coming from the other room. It was like salt in the wound for poor, over-worked and over-whelmed Martha. Finally, unable to hold her tongue any longer, Martha marched out of the kitchen and stood directly in front of Jesus. Pointing her accusing finger at her sister, Mary, the emotional fall-out went something like this, "Lord, I've been busting my hiney for hours in that kitchen while little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes just sits around here with nothing better to do than spend time with you! Why don't you tell her to get up, put some lead under it, and give me a hand in the kitchen?"
To her surprise, Jesus didn't chastise Mary, but instead, He turned His attention directly to Martha and said, "Martha, Martha, (nope, he didn't say Marcia, Marcia), you are worried and upset about all these details." Martha bit her tongue and fought the temptation to remind Jesus that, after all, it was a good thing somebody had been worried about the details, lest nobody would have had anything to eat! Instead, she listened closely to Jesus' reply, "There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered that one thing, and it will not be taken away from her."
With those words, I like to imagine that a great big light-bulb went off in Martha's brain - one of those "could have had a V-8" type of epiphanies, or maybe "why didn't we just go to Outback for dinner?" Whatever the case, Martha got the message loud and clear. She may have been over-worked, and over-whelmed, but she wasn't stupid! Although the Bible doesn't tell us specifically, I also like to imagine that Martha suddenly realized that all the cares of this world could and would wait. For now, only one thing was necessary - only one thing worth being concerned about. It was the one thing that could never be taken from her. It was the time she chose to spend with Jesus. Taking off her apron and throwing it aside, Martha quietly sat down at the Master's feet. She had discovered the truth, and the truth had set her free.
CHECK US OUT ON
YOUTUBE!
Click the video above for our newest YouTube Video with my equine ministry partner, Samson (pics and video from earlier this year). This video features the amazing vocals of my dear friend and minister, Ann Nicholson. Years ago, and before giving her life to Christ, Ann was a back-up vocalist for many secular artists, including Joe Cocker, and Leon Russell. In 2014, Ann recorded Leon's hit song, "A Song For You", especially for my birthday. Her amazing and soulful rendition of this song will bless you!
Want to take a ride on a champion western pleasure horse? Now, you can - thanks to Samson, and a GoPro Camera that puts you right in the saddle with me! Don't forget to check out my grandson, Zach, making a cameo appearance in the video. What a great sport he was to let Nana chase him around the arena that day! And special thanks once again to Tom and Ann Nicholson for their amazing musical talent. Together, they produced this video song titled "The Stranger" performed by the Praise Team, Church Alive, Cleveland, TN, and featured on the CD titled "Combustible Praise". Oh yeah, it also features the best guitarist in the world, my husband, Kim Klaudt, doing what he does best - playing that sanctified blues! You can check him out on YouTube, too!
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