Dear Faith Family, 

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”, (Luke 10:40). 

White Line Fever.  Highway Hypnosis.  Brain Fog.  My wife asked if I would stop at the rest stop on I-77 near Chester, SC.  Sure.  It was several miles down the interstate.  No problem.  Fast forward who knows how long.  Had to be at least five minutes!  At some point I noticed the blue highway sign declaring that the rest stop was immediately to our right.  No need to mention that we were in the left lane and the exit ramp for the rest stop was in our rearview mirror! 

How does that even happen?!  There were other things to think about, right?  Like the events of the day gone by.  Like how many miles / minutes left before home sweet home.  Like the guy in the right lane – who drives that way?  Like what needs to happen before my head greets the pillow.  Like the price of that gas.  Wait, what were we talking about? 

Oh yea.  The rest stop.  Now there’s a novel idea.  Luke drew it up in a real-life word picture named Mary.  When Jesus came to visit, Mary saw the exit ramp, took it, and sat at the feet of her guest.  Martha?  She may have missed the exit.  Luke informs us that Martha was distracted. 

Now, to be sure, there are more kinds of distractions than one.  There are external distractions.  You know, the distractions that don’t take up residence in your home.  They come for a visit just long enough to capture your attention.  Just long enough to steal your focus and help you forget what you were invested in. 

On the other hand, there are distractions that are internal.  They live in your home.  They leech off what you’ve actually been called to do.  Martha welcomed Jesus when He arrived.  That’s when her heart of service shifted gears.  Somewhere between vacuuming the floors and filling the dishwasher, highway hypnosis clouded her vision.  Maybe she forgot why she was serving.   

In either case, how quickly we’re distracted! The phone. The television. The doorbell. The business of life. And did I mention the phone?! How desperately we need communication with our Lord Jesus! Listening to His Word (the Bible) and asking for His wisdom to discern His will from distractions.  

And then there’s those pesky internal distractions – when we lose focus. When our patience runs thin. When others misunderstand. When encouragement is scarce. When we forget why we are doing what we are doing. May God’s Word call us back to attention and out of the fog of distraction.  

Learning how to sit at His feet,  

Pastor Karl