I've been chewing on a thought inside for a couple weeks now...the thought that the people you surround yourself with matter.creatively, mentally, spiritually, anything-ally...it matters.I have a friend who the more I think about, the more I am convinced that we are at times the "mary & martha" of today.that story of martha coming to Jesus when mary was sitting at his feet listening instead of helping martha?I think about that story a lot when it comes to this friend...that and david & jonathan - but that's another story for another day...for a long time I assumed that martha and mary must not have been good friends and that martha chose wrongly in this story.but I don't think it's as black and white as that.I think that they were friends...good friends in fact, almost like sisters.which is why martha could be openly frustrated with mary...sister's do that, they whine about each other but if anyone else messes with one of the other - watch out, you're going to get messed up. ;)this particular friend is like a martha to me.she is one of the hardest workers I know, and not the showy kind of hard worker,the kind that takes a back-seat and does the hard when no one else is looking without complaining,she is disciplined with most area's of her life, if there is money to be saved or a diet to stick to - she wins every.time,she is the kind of nice person to send thoughtful thank you notes,she opens her house and pool to everyone around her...hospitality is one of her gifts.she gave me this thought while I was at her table a couple weeks ago when she mentioned that she was slightly envious of my appearance of "having it all"i.e. being a mary...this took me aback as I sat at her table with a centerpiece,and looked at her perfectly cleaned floors,at her artistically decorated & visually stimulating house,and at her made-up beautiful face (I still had yet to put my face on),and thought about all the above attributes that I associate with her.in her eyes,I have a husband who loves me everyday (although some days I push it.)I genuinely love my kids - they fascinate me, encourage me, teach me and make me laugh & love harder than anyone else,I have an occupation that I get to creatively do something I love to do and that He seems to be blessing,I have a family that, although we are stretched across the map and have very different lives, I love and have no strife with,I have a church family that I love to serve and worship and learn and live life with,I have a house, that although it's grubby a lot, it's a home.in her eyes, I was mary that day sitting at the feet of Jesus.it was good for me to take a step back that day and gain a little perspective.because far too often I look through my eyes and see:my husband who I don't pursue and honor as much as a should,my kids who have dirty fingernails in bad need of showering,an occupation that I'm always second guessing myself in,a family who I don't spend as much time with as I feel like I should,and a house - always grubby.in my eyes, I am more like mary. but a mary that needs to take a few que's from a martha. :)because to be honest, martha has a LOT going on for her.and things that mary needs to be reminded of to chase after...discipline, hard-work, servant-ness, these are all incredibly good things.just as in the same way that martha needed to be reminded by mary to set aside her to-do list to simply be at the feet of who she loved most.Jesus loved both these women.both of them served their purpose.discontentment has a way of making less of one or the other, but I think balance is key.to be both?I don't think you can at the same time - but living life with a reminder to love one another for how He's made you,and to work hard at how He's made you is a good thing.iron sharpening iron. :)