
Fresh, Okanagon grown cherries. They arrived at my door yesterday. A sweet lady had mentioned that someone was travelling back from the fresh fruit mecca of British Columbia. Would I would like to purchase some?
Saying no to OK (Okanagan, not okay as in mediocre) cherries, I cannot do.
And so, they were delivered to my door, with a warm smile.
Cherries are such a delicious, sweet fruit. To have only had to wait at my house for them to arrive was fantastic.
I mean, I could go to the nursery, purchase a cherry tree, plant, fertilize and prune it. I could water it, stake it to the ground. Then wait for the fruits of my labor.
But, when the fruit just shows up … with no effort but to hand over a few dollars, perfection! Once I said goodbye to my delivery girl, I just wanted to taste them.
In the Bible there is the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus arrives. Mary plunks herself at his feet and Martha begins scurrying fast as a … rabbit, gathering a feast fit for a king.
Doing, doing, doing. Working swiftly, to present her best for Jesus.
Then Jesus says to Martha:
“few things are needed–or indeed only one.
Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.”
That would hurt.
Martha, running around for Jesus, and he then tells her that Mary, sitting on her hind end, chose what is better.
This story was hard for me to get, because I am a doer. I just know that I would be in the kitchen, creating something to serve him.
Then I got the cherries.
With the cherries (such a rare, ripe treat), all I wanted to do was to eat them, enjoying their sweet fruit.
That is what Jesus asks of us.
When he arrives at our doorstep, he just wants us to recognize what a sweet treat it is to spend time at his feet. No production is needed. Just sit at his feet. Recognize that he is enough.
There is no other way to serve Christ … not even service to him … but to sit at his feet.
“Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!“
Psalm 34:8
Love this post, Carole. A good reminder to enjoy Jesus in the midst of the hurly-burly.
It was just that to me (i love the use of hurly-burly 🙂 … it’s like a giggle falling off ones lips).
Yes, I’m a Martha. As I’ve aged and the body turns traitor I’ve been forced to sit and I’ve found the up side of pain and suffering. Jesus sits with us. There is such peace and rest, not doing anything but savouring the sight, the sound, the taste of God with us.
I love the picture you’ve created. No one wants pain or suffering, but the serenity you’ve described of him sitting with us is so serene.